


Finally 17!

by 9876grpc



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2017-12-14 20:16:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 114,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/840943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9876grpc/pseuds/9876grpc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose is FINALLY turning 17 and she can't wait to seduce that older wizard she's had her eye on for years...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Birthday Party

I do not own Harry Potter (JKR does).

Warning: This is a Harry/Rose pairing but remember that they are NOT related by blood and she is of age in this fic.  If you’re OK with this then I read on…

Harry looked at around him in awe.  Hermione had gone all out for Rose’s 17th birthday party.  There must have been over 100 people here and she had used a muggle’s sweet 16 party as her inspiration.  There was food and punch (probably spiked by now), a DJ and large dance floor.  Harry scanned the crowd looking for his kids and had to look away quickly when he found Lily in a passionate kiss with Scorpius Malfoy...he would never get used to seeing that.  Al and James seemed to be surrounded by several pretty girls each and he chuckled at the sight.  His ex-wife Ginny was here with her boyfriend, Cormac, of all people.  She seemed happy enough so who was he to judge.  He then found Rose and he still couldn’t believe how much she had grown, she was absolutely beautiful.  She caught his gaze, smiled and made her way over to him.

“Hi” she said leaning in to hug Harry and kissed him on the neck, which made him shiver involuntarily.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back a little to look at her questioningly and said “Hi Rose.... Happy Birthday.”

She beamed proudly and said “Thanks.  Can you believe I’m finally 17?  I feel like I’ve been waiting for this day forever!”

Harry raised his eyebrows and said “Really...What was the big rush to turn 17?”

She smiled deviously and asked, “Promise not to tell?”

He grinned widely and said, “I promise.”

She moved closer and whispered huskily in his ear “I’ve found myself fancying an older wizard and I’ve been waiting not so patiently to turn 17 so that I can seduce him.”

Harry’s breathing stopped.... he was in shock.  Rose was still incredibly close to him and he was becoming uncomfortable with this sudden turn of events. 

She continued on whispering, every now and then her lips would touch his ear making him shiver again.  She did not seem to notice that Harry was frozen in place...  “You know him, the wizard, quite well actually.  Care to take a guess who it is that I plan on seducing?”

Harry shook his head to the side slightly indicating No he didn’t want to guess...he didn’t want to know.  Why was it so hot in here, did Hermione set the temperature to 100 degrees on purpose...he was sweating.  Rose had gotten even closer to him, if that was possible then he felt her move and realized she was now sitting in his lap with her arm around him and her mouth still up against his ear.  He started to panic...what the hell was going on?  This was Hermione and Ron’s daughter, surely this was wrong; she may not be related by blood but ... he couldn’t think clearly. He needed to stop this before it got any farther.  He found his hands gripping her waist tightly and realized his fingers were touching bare skin...it distracted him and he looked down to see a large portion of her stomach revealed by her top.  He tried to speak but he only got out a husky “Rose...”

She smiled seductively back at him and said “Ah, so you’ve figured it out...” then she asked innocently “Is it working?”

His eyes widened and he tried to speak again but nothing came out.  She smiled at him again and whispered sexily “tag, you’re it.”  Then she gently pulled on his earlobe with her teeth, got up off his lap, smiled down at him and walked away.

Harry was in shock...he was certain he looked like he was hit with a stupefy spell but he couldn’t believe that just happened.  After a few minutes he felt someone sit down next to him and they handed him a drink.  He looked over, still in shock, to see Hermione smiling at him.  He tensed up immediately.

She either didn’t notice or didn’t care.  She downed her drink in one shot and Harry stared at her questioningly.  Finally she said “Look, Harry, I’m not an idiot.  I’ve known she’s fancied you for years.  I thought it would go away, that it was just a silly crush but clearly it hasn’t.”  She looked at him and laughed, then said, “You had no idea, did you?  You look like you’ve been hit by a bludger.”

He shook his head to the side indicating no, he had no idea.  He still couldn’t speak properly.  He drank his drink quickly and they both indicated to a passing waiter (again Hermione went all out) that they would like another.  After a few more minutes of silence Hermione asked amused “Are you going to speak anytime soon?”

“Don’t really know what to say, Mione.” replied Harry

“I know you and I don’t want you to not do something because of me or Ron.  You deserve to be happy Harry, and clearly Ginny didn’t make you happy.  You haven’t been with anyone since the divorce...and that was two years ago.” said Hermione

“I have too been with others since the divorce.” replied Harry indignantly

Hermione smiled, and said, “I don’t mean just a quick shag, Harry.”

He smiled at that and asked incredulously “What are you saying Mione, that you want me to date your daughter?”

“I’m saying that I want you to make up your own mind but I don’t want me or Ron to factor at all in your decision...understand?”  Replied Hermione

“You must be joking Mione, I’m practically her uncle” said Harry

“But you are NOT her uncle...there is no shared blood between you.  Besides she’s never thought of you as an uncle.  Even when she was younger, she would blush when you talked to her and as she got older she always fussed over how she looked when you were going to be around.  You’ve always had her attention, Harry, and she’s apparently just been waiting to act,” replied Hermione

“I can’t believe we are having this conversation,” said Harry downing another drink.

Hermione laughed again and said “I’ve been preparing for this...I could tell she was planning something.”

Harry turned to look at her shocked again

She replied “I’m just thankful that it’s you she’s got her eye on, Lily had a crush on Draco Malfoy last year.  I can’t tell you how revolting it was to listen to her go on and on about how sexy he was.  It was all I could do to keep from vomiting.”

Harry choked on his drink and said “What!  Are you serious?”

“Merlin yes, it was horrible.  Although she seems to have gotten over that, if the way her and Scorpius are going at it are anything to go by,” said Hermione

Harry groaned and said “Mione, please, stop, you’re killing me.”

“OK, OK, fine.  But just think of it this way...if Al or James had the hots for an older witch, would you rather it be me or Pansy Parkinson?” asked Hermione amused

“Are you drunk?” asked Harry clearly shocked

“Pretty much, but you didn’t answer the question.” smirked Hermione

“Fine, you, I guess...you’re not thinking of bedding one of my boys are you?” asked Harry warily

Hermione laughed and said, “No, Harry, I’m a married witch, remember.” and she flashed her wedding band at him.

He sighed in relief, thanking Merlin for that small miracle.  He couldn’t handle any more surprises tonight.

“Speaking of the handsome devils,” said Hermione addressing Al and James who had just walked over to them.

Harry smiled at them and said, “You two seem to be having a good time...”

“Yeah, we are.  This is great Auntie,” said James and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Harry shifted uncomfortably and Hermione laughed at him

“What’s so funny?” asked Al

“Oh, nothing, your father is just a little on edge with witches tonight...aren’t you Harry?” giggled Hermione

He shot her a dark look and didn’t respond

“Well I don’t blame him, I think there’s something in the air tonight, they all seem to be acting a little strange.  Even Lils and Rosie.  Bloody hell, I had to hear at least a dozen blokes talking about how hot they looked tonight.  And Rosie keeps looking around like she’s hunting for her prey.  It’s pretty scary.  I feel bad for the bloke who tries to resist her tonight.” finished Al

Hermione burst out laughing and Harry groaned running his hands through his hair.

Al and James eyed them curiously, then James asked “so what were you two saying about us before we walked over?”

Hermione giggled again (she was getting quite drunk) and said “Oh, I was just asking your dad if one of you had the hots for an older witch, would he rather it be me or Pansy Parkinson.”

“Mione!” said Harry shocked that she told them

“What?  They asked.” replied Hermione nonplussed

“Sorry, boys, apparently your Aunt has had too much to drink,” said Harry taking away her current drink

James laughed good-naturedly but Al smirked and replied, “Well, there’s no blood shared so there’s no harm in me saying I would definitely pick you.”  He then brushed the back of his hand against Hermione’s cheek and walked away, leaving James and Harry with their mouths wide open.  Harry looked to Hermione to see her blushing.  He needed another drink, no doubt about it and he downed the remnants of the drink he took away from Hermione.

“Blimey, everyone’s mental tonight.” said James and Harry just nodded in agreement.  They sat watching everyone for a few minutes until Hermione stood up and said “Alright, who’s going to dance with me?”

James was on his feet in a second and said, “I’ll dance with you Auntie.”

Hermione smiled and Harry went to object but she cut him off and said “Harry, I’m sure the Birthday girl would love to dance with you.”

Then James piped in and said, “Yeah Dad, will you dance with Rosie?  Maybe it will scare off some of the blokes who have their eye on her.”

Harry shot a pleading look at Hermione who just giggled and pulled James with her to the dance floor.  Then he spotted Rose, making her way over to him and groaned.

“So, aren’t you going to ask the Birthday girl to dance?” asked Rose with her lips in a small pout.  Shit, he needed to get away... but it would probably look strange if he was seen running away from a 17-year-old witch.  Wouldn’t do much for his manly reputation now would it.  While he was thinking this all over, he failed to notice Rose take his hand and lead him onto the dance floor.  How did his hands end up on her waist again?  Holy Merlin she smelled good.  He found himself inexplicably drawn closer to her, one hand was on her bare skin on her back while the other was holding the exposed skin of her hip to him.  She had her arms wrapped around his neck and she was resting her head in the crook of his neck.  Her breathing was tickling him and he couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.  She was so close and so soft and she felt like heaven to him. 

Then she started whispering in his ear again “You’ve always smelled so good to me, it’s intoxicating really.” He closed his eyes when her lips touched his ear, he couldn’t take much more of this.  He was a man for Merlin’s sake. He wondered if she knew she was playing with fire? Then she spoke again “Do you know what I want for my Birthday, Harry?”  He was somewhat hesitant in his reply but he finally whispered back “No, what do you want Rose?”  He held his breath waiting for her answer.  He nearly died when she replied huskily “I want you Harry.”  He pulled away from her in shock and they stared into each other’s eyes for a long time. 

Then Lily was next to them and she was saying something to Harry...he shook his head and looked at her and said “What?”

“Dad, weren’t you listening?  I said I’m leaving.  Scorpius is going to take me back to Mum’s now.  Are you OK? You look like you’ve had too much to drink...”

“I’m fine, Lils, don’t worry about me.  Is your mother home? I don’t want you alone with Scorpius in the house.” replied Harry

“Honestly Dad...  Mum just left a few minutes ago to go home so I wont be alone with Scor.  And Dad I thought we talked about this before, I’m old enough now to make decisions about who I want...” replied Lily

“Lily! Please, stop, I don’t want to hear any more.  Just...good night.” said Harry blushing furiously

She laughed and said “Night Dad.  Rose, will you make sure he gets home OK?”

Rose grinned and said “absolutely” and then she continued under her breath saying, “I’ll even tuck him in if he wants.”

Harry groaned and Lily said “Night.”

Harry looked questioningly at Rose and she smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the house.  They were stopped several times so that people could say good-bye to Rose.  Harry just followed silently, not even realizing that he was still holding her hand.  When they got inside Hermione was in the kitchen cleaning up.  She looked at their joined hands and raised her eyebrows.  Rose said “Mum, Harry has a present for me at his house. I’m going with him to get it...don’t wait up for me.”  Hermione looked to Harry, who looked shocked at this statement but before he could say anything Rose pulled him into the Floo and shouted “Grimmauld Place.”  Hermione shook her head, said “Poor Harry” and headed up to bed.

When they arrived at Harry’s he seemed to come out of his stupor and said “Rose, what’s gotten into you tonight?  I don’t have a present here for you, I left my present at your house with everyone else’s...”

“Well perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that I had a present for you,” replied Rose

Harry raised his eyebrows but before he could say anything Rose was walking toward him.  She stopped to look him in the eye and took hold of his hand again.  She pulled him towards the stairs and started walking up them.  She sensed him starting to resist so she turned and smiled at him, which seemed to throw him off a little.  Finally, when she reached the top of the stairs she pulled him towards his bedroom and opened the door pulling him in with her.  She let go of his hand and looked around curiously, never having been in his room before.  It was very masculine, all the furniture was dark wood, and he had black satin sheets... which she ran her fingers over and looked up at him. 

He was having hard time breathing.  How did they end up in his bedroom and why was she looking at him like...like...he was dinner.  He started to back up and found himself quickly backed up against a wall with Rose in front of him.  She whispered huskily in his ear “Harry” and then started to unbutton his shirt.  When she finished with the buttons she ran both her hands up his chest starting at his stomach and he closed his eyes and let out an involuntary moan at the feel of it.  She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and started to kiss his arms, then his shoulders, then his chest, moving to his nipples and then she hesitated.  He opened his eyes to see her an inch from his face. 

He couldn’t hold back anymore, he quickly closed the gap between them and attacked her mouth.  She moaned loudly and he turned them around so that he was pushing her up against the wall.  He took both her hands and held them above her head, then started kissing and sucking on her neck.  She squirmed and moaned and ground her hips against his begging for more.  He broke away from the kiss and growled into her neck, then bit a spot on her shoulder.  She yelped out in surprise and he took the opportunity to lift both her legs up and wrap them around his waist.  He pushed her against the wall harder and held her arms tightly still above her head and she growled in frustration, biting down on his neck hard.  That sent him over the edge and he lost what little control he had left.  He quickly brought her over to the bed and roughly threw her down on it... She went to take her clothes off but he said “No.”

She smiled devilishly at him and laid back down.  He moved closer and pulled her skimpy top off of her to find she had no bra on.  He growled in approval and roughly ran his hands over her.  She was only wearing a short pleated skirt and heels...he pushed the skirt up and touched her gently then he brought his fingers up to his mouth and licked off her juices.  She moaned in delight and grabbed his hand, bringing it to her mouth and finished licking his fingers for him. “Fuck.” moaned Harry in response

He ripped his clothes off and they gasped and moaned at the sudden feeling of their joined bodies.  Harry was rough but not so much that he hurt her, just enough so it was clear how much he needed her.  He’d never felt this good with a witch and he was going to make sure he pleased her as well.  When she finally screamed in release, he went with her having the best orgasm of his life.  He collapsed on top of her and they stayed that way for a long time just catching their breath.

Finally Harry crawled up to the top of the bed and moved the covers, and then he pulled Rose up with him and covered them both.  Rose curled up in his arms with her head on his chest.  They were still breathing heavily when Harry said “Rose, that was amazing.”  She giggled in response and reached up with her lips to kiss him.  She didn’t seem to want to stop kissing him and he groaned and said “you have to give me some time to recover, you little minx.”  She smiled and kissed his neck and laid back down with her head on his chest. They stayed like that and started to drift off to sleep when Rose whispered, “Harry?” 

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead and said “yeah?”

“That was the best birthday present ever.  Thank you,” she whispered

He laughed and whispered “it was my pleasure Rose, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Harry?” asked Rose hesitantly

“Hmmm” he replied sleepily

“Can we do it again?” she whispered

“Definitely, just let me get some sleep first.” He replied laughing

“Promise you won’t change your mind when you wake up?” she asked curiously

“I promise Rose,” said Harry firmly

“Ok, night.” sighed Rose

“Night” replied Harry grinning

Then they fell fast asleep together.  When Harry woke in the morning, he was surprised that he didn’t feel guilty.  He looked down to see Rose curled up in his arms still and smiled.  Hermione was right, he deserved to be happy and if this was the witch that made him happy then so be it. He kissed her softly on the neck and moved her gently to the side covering her up.  He got up and threw on a pair of boxers and went downstairs to go make her breakfast. 

When Rose woke, she felt cold and reached around to feel for Harry.  She smiled remembering last night and how unbelievable they were together.  When she opened her eyes she found he wasn’t in bed anymore and she frowned hoping that he didn’t regret it.  Then she smelled food coming from downstairs and immediately felt better.  He was just making breakfast. She got up and grabbed one of his button up shirts and put it on haphazardly buttoning it then made her way downstairs. 

When she entered the kitchen her breath caught in her throat at how sexy Harry was standing there in his boxers cooking.  He may have been in his forties but he was in great shape.  He turned when he heard her approaching and smiled broadly.  He reached out and grabbed her by the waist pulling her towards him, crushing her mouth with a passionate kiss.  When they broke apart he said “Good morning, I was going to bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Good morning to you.  I was lonely in bed without you so I came to find you and bring you back so that I could have my way with you.” replied Rose reaching down to cup his butt.

He smiled and replied, “your wish is my command, but let’s eat first so it doesn’t go to waste.”

Rose grabbed a fork out of the drawer and jumped up to sit on the counter next to the stove.  She scooped up some eggs and held them out for Harry to eat.  He moved in between her legs and took the offered food, and then he began to feed her as well.  They continued like this for a few minutes, giggling and kissing in between bites.  Finally when all the food was gone, Rose pulled Harry to her and began kissing him passionately.  She then hopped off the counter and turned them around and pushed him against it.  

Then before he realized what was happening Rose was on her knees in front of him pulling down his boxers.  He moaned as soon as he felt her mouth on him and grabbed on to the counter for support.  She was exploring him at first timidly then all of sudden he was surrounded by her warmth and he thought he had died and gone to heaven. He was somewhat aware of the fact that he was making a lot of noise but he didn’t care. His legs gave out soon and he collapsed on the floor and pulled Rose into his lap, kissing her all over in appreciation.  She giggled and then asked shyly “Was that OK?”

He chuckled and said “OK? It was bloody brilliant, Rose.”

“Really? That was the first time I’ve ever done that... I was worried I was doing it wrong,” replied Rose

He turned her head so he could look at her, she was blushing and she looked beautiful.  He lifted her chin up and kissed her passionately, then broke away and said “it was perfect, Rose, really.” Then he smirked and said, “now how about we go back upstairs and I can repay you?”

Rose smiled and laughed then she got up and said, “you’ll have to catch me first.” And she giggled and started running out of the kitchen.

Harry laughed and said “you little minx!” throwing his boxers back on and swiftly following her.  He caught up with her just as she was getting to the stairs and grabbed her by the waist and pushed her up against the banister kissing her passionately…

At the same time that Harry and Rose were eating breakfast, the burrow was filled with family and they were all waiting for just Harry and Rose.  Hermione was biting her lip in worry wondering if they forgot about the weekly 2:00 dinner with the family.  Finally Al said “Look, why don’t I just go to my Dad’s.  He seemed like he had too much to drink last night so he’s probably just sleeping it off.” 

Everyone was nodding in agreement when Hermione panicked and jumped up saying, “No, Al, I’ll go.  You just stay here.” 

But he waved her off and headed to the Floo in the other room.  She yelled back to everyone “I’ll go get Rose as well at her friends house and be right back”

She rushed to Al and said “Al, please, I don’t think you should go to your Dad’s right now.  Let me go.”

He raised his brow at her and said, “No, it OK, you have to get Rosie.  I’ll be right back.” And he was gone.

“Shit!” yelled Hermione before she jumped into the Floo after him and said “Grimmauld Place.”

When Al arrived he heard giggling which he thought was strange and then he smiled thinking his Dad must have a witch over.

Hermione burst through the fireplace and sighed in relief when she saw Al still standing there.  He turned and smiled at her and held his finger up to his lips telling her to be quiet, which she thought was odd.  Then she heard the giggling and actually groaned out loud.  Al raised his eyebrows questioningly at her but before she could get him out of there Rose ran by in nothing but a t shirt and then Harry had caught her and was passionately snogging her against the banister of the stairs.  Neither had noticed Hermione or Al in the room.  They had a perfect view of exactly what Harry and Rose were doing.  Al seemed to be speechless so Hermione spoke up and said, “You two seemed to have forgotten that you were supposed to be at Molly’s a half hour ago.”

Harry and Rose jumped apart when they heard Hermione’s voice and Rose squeaked and hid behind Harry, who didn’t have anything on except his boxers.  Both of their faces were beet red in embarrassment but when Harry saw Al he groaned and said “shit” under his breath.

Hermione continued on trying to pretend the situation wasn’t as awkward as it was and said “Rose, I didn’t see you take anything with you last night so I packed some of your things just in case” then she reached into her bag and pulled out what she packed for Rose and walked over and handed them to Harry since Rose was hidden behind him.

“Look, we can talk about this all later but right now you need to go get changed and get to the burrow.  Everyone is waiting for you two.” Said Hermione slightly annoyed that neither had moved or said anything.

Rose grabbed the stuff from Harry and used it to cover herself up enough to make it up the stairs.  When she was out of sight Hermione sighed and said “I’ll see you there.” And left through the Floo to go back to Molly’s.

Harry just stared at his son, not really knowing what to say.  Al still looked completely shocked.  “Look, Al…”

But Al cut him off and said “this is why Hermione didn’t want me to come get you…she knew, didn’t she?”

“Al…this wasn’t planned…this is the first time this has happened…there was nothing to know about…but she knew that Rose…brought me home last night.” Harry stammered out.

“Did you take advantage of her?” asked Al angrily advancing on his father

“What? No! Of course not!” replied Harry now angry as well

“Then explain to me how you ended up shagging your own niece!  My cousin for Merlin’s sake!” Al yelled

Rose had heard Al yelling and decided she needed to get down there fast before things got out of hand so she hastily dried herself off from her shower and frantically got dressed running down the stairs…

“I…I…I don’t know, Al.  It just happened.  It wasn’t planned.  I didn’t take advantage of her, I swear to Merlin.  But I’m not sorry that it happened.  And she’s not my niece.  She may be your cousin, but there’s no blood shared between us.” Replied Harry

Al rolled his eyes in response and ran his hands through his hair

Rose spoke up startling the both of them since neither had heard her come down and said “Al, it was me.  I started this whole thing.  I’ve had a crush on Harry for as long as I can remember and these last few years it’s just gotten so much more intense.  I was waiting to turn 17 to make my move.  You should be blaming me, Al.  I seduced him, he tried to resist, he really did, Al, but you know that I always get what I want.” She was smirking when she finished and had made her way over to Al, approaching him slowly in case he was still angry.

Al looked at her incredulously and then said “Bloody Hell Rosie, he’s my Dad!”

“I know.  I’m sorry if this bothers you.  It’s why I never told any of you.  I know it’s strange but Harry and I, we’re not related.  We’re just not.” Replied Rose

“Rosie, he’s the same age as your Dad!  He’s what…25 years older than you!  That’s just…just…I don’t know what it is but…ARGH!” yelled Al clearly frustrated with this strange conversation.

“I know.  Al, look, I don’t even know what this is and Harry and I haven’t had a chance to talk about it.  I mean who knows, maybe it’s just a time thing, a quick shag…”

“What?!” yelled Al and Harry at the same time

Rose put her hands up in surrender and said, “I’m not saying that’s what it was but Al, I don’t know, OK?  Can you just keep this to yourself until we figure it out?”

When he just stared at her in response she continued “I just don’t see the need to get everyone all riled up when we don’t know what’s going on yet.  I mean I didn’t exactly plan on anyone finding out while we were still in the middle of everything!”

Al groaned and said “Gross, Rosie.  I really didn’t need to know that you were still in the middle of shagging my Dad when I got here!”

Rose giggled and Al looked at her like he had never seen her before then he finally said, “Fine.  I won’t say anything.  But let me know when you figure it out because I swear I don’t ever want to walk in and see you two going at it again!” He shook his head as if trying to clear the vision from his head and Rose hugged him happily.  He was decidedly uncomfortably with the hug, not wanting to touch her anywhere with all that he knew and broke away quickly.  “Can we go now, so that everyone can eat?  They’re all waiting for you…”

She looked back to Harry questioningly and he said, “Go ahead, I’ll just shower quickly and be right there.”

She smiled and walked over to him giving him a quick but passionate kiss on the lips and left through the Floo to go to the Burrow.  Al was mumbling “gross” under his breath and shaking his head.

Harry smiled to himself thinking that it hadn’t gone as bad as he expected.  He was happier than he could remember being in a long time and he practically skipped upstairs to the shower to change and go to the Burrow.  He was looking forward to figuring out what this was with Rose but he knew that it definitely wasn’t a quick shag for him.  Maybe he could find happiness after all.

The Burrow was chaotic, just like always.  Rose’s entire family was in attendance this weekend to celebrate her birthday.  She felt guilty about making them wait for her but she had not bothered to check the time when she awoke earlier.  Rose still couldn’t believe what happened…she kept purposely pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.  She must have looked incredibly happy because everyone kept commenting along those lines.  Her Dad sought her out and asked, “Rosie, where have you been?”

Rose brushed him off and said, “Sorry, Dad, I just lost track of time. Let’s eat, OK?”

He looked at her suspiciously but was not going to refuse food, so he rounded everyone up to start eating. 

Harry came in just as everyone had sat down and said, “Sorry, I’m late everyone.”

They all nodded or mumbled in response, wanting to finally eat.

He sat down and as he began to reach for the food he realized he had just eaten.  He chanced a look at Rose to see that she had just realized the same thing.  She put a small amount of food on her plate as did Harry but of course Molly noticed.

“Rose, dear, what’s wrong?  Why aren’t you eating?  Are you not feeling well?” asked Molly worriedly.

“No, Grandma, there’s nothing wrong…” started Rose but Molly cut her off saying, “Are you sure dear?  You look different today…”

“Yes, she does.  I noticed it too.” Cut in Fleur

“What are you talking about, she looks fabulous!” said Roxanne

“Honestly, I’m fine.  I just ate a late breakfast is all,” Replied Rose exasperatedly

Harry smiled at her and Hermione tried to ignore them and keep from groaning out loud.

Just when Rose thought the topic was over, Victorie said, “Rose, you do look radiant today…you’re absolutely glowing! Don’t you all agree?”

Everyone at the table turned to look at Rose and she couldn’t help but blush at having so much attention on her.  Harry squirmed a little in his seat, not really sure he liked where the conversation was headed.  However, nothing could have prepared him for what Molly would say next…

“Rose, she’s right, you do have a certain glow about you today.  I hope you didn’t have too much fun last night dear. I know times have changed since when I was younger.  I know that witches don’t always wait until they are married to have sex, but I would hope that you would be wise enough to use protection…you did use protection, didn’t you dear?” asked Molly seriously

Rose choked on her pumpkin juice that she had been drinking.  Harry dropped the serving bowl out of his hands and it crashed to the floor shattering into many small pieces.  Hermione gasped, as did the majority of the others at the table.  Ron took a minute to recover from the shock and yelled, “WHAT?”

Rose squeaked out, “GRANDMA!”

“What dear, really, if you’re old enough to have sex then you should be able to discuss it.” Replied Molly casually

“Yes, but do we need to discuss it in the middle of a family dinner?  I don’t see you asking anyone else if they’re having sex or if they’re using protection!” yelled Rose getting angry.

“Honestly, Mum, why are we talking about this?  She’s obviously not having sex, therefore, she doesn’t need to use protection! Isn’t that right, Rosie?” yelled Ron

Rose was speechless.  She just stared at her father with her mouth hanging open.  Harry actually groaned. After a minute of Rose attempting to speak, Hermione stood up and said fiercely, “Enough!  This is none of our business. Rose is old enough now to make these decisions for herself and she does not have to answer to us.  Not a single one of us would be willing to discuss our sex lives at the dinner table amongst everyone.  Now drop it.” She then shot Harry a dirty look, grabbed Ron by the arm, and took him outside to calm him down. 

Rose excused herself from the table and left the kitchen.  Harry got up almost immediately after she had left and said he would go check on her.  Several of her cousins tried to go after her as well but Al insisted she be alone with his Dad for a few minutes.

Rose was furious with her grandmother.  She was storming around the living room trying to vent her anger but it wasn’t working.  What the hell was all that about?  She couldn’t remember a conversation like that ever coming up with any of her older cousins! 

“Hey, are you alright?” asked Harry quietly from behind her

“NO! What in Merlin’s name was that,” asked Rose?

Harry wrapped his arms around her so that his hands were clasped in front of her stomach and leaned over her shoulder so that their faces were touching.  He then replied quietly whispering in her ear, “I don’t know, but you do look radiant today.  Maybe we should just tell them I shagged your brains out last night and that’s why you look so good.”

Suddenly Rose wasn’t angry anymore and she laughed quietly, snuggling up closer to him, “Yes, that would be interesting dinner conversation.”  She then rubbed against him and smiled at his groan. 

He untwined his fingers and moved his hands so that one was on each hip and he pulled her further into him.  Harry started, “Rose…we didn’t”

But that’s all that he was able to get out before Molly burst into the room, startling the pair apart saying, “Rose, dear, I’m sorry. Your Mum is right, it’s not a topic for dinner and I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Rose just stared at her grandmother, half of her brain was still trying to process what Harry had started to say before they were interrupted, ‘Rose, we didn’t…’  What didn’t they do?  She blushed thinking of a few things they hadn’t gotten to do yet.  Her thoughts were interrupted by her grandmother again, “Rose, please, come back to the table.  You haven’t eaten yet and we’re celebrating your birthday!  Do you forgive me?”

Rose was nodding in reply to her grandmother when it suddenly hit her…she gasped and her eyes flew to meet Harry’s.  She knew what he was trying to say…they didn’t.  How could they have been so stupid! 

Now her grandmother was concerned, Rose had gasped and lost all the color in her face within seconds.  She looked like she was going to pass out.  “Rose, dear, what’s wrong?”

“I…I…I was going to take it…I had put it on my dresser to take before I went downstairs to the party…then Lily, Al and James came up to my room…and I forgot!  I completely forgot to take it.” Stammered Rose staring at Harry the whole time

“Oh, dear.” Replied Molly sitting down on the coach

Harry nodded and said, “It’s OK, Rose, we’ll figure it out.”

“Rose, what about the spell?  Did you cast the spell?” asked Molly

Rose shook her head still looking directly at Harry and said, “No, we didn’t.”

“Oh, dear.” Molly repeated then she said, “What about those Muggle pills?”

Again, Rose shook her head

Molly then jumped up excited and said, “Wait, I remember Hermione telling me about those pills you can take if you forgot to use protection…what are they called…oh yes, morning after pills!  We can get you some of those!”

Rose couldn’t help but see the look of hurt run across Harry’s face at that idea, before he got control of his emotions.  She bit her lip, not sure what to do…

“I’ll go get your mother, dear.  She can figure out how to get them for you.” Said Molly standing up.

“No!” yelled Rose, then she continued more quietly, “I mean, thank you, Grandma, but I’d like to figure this out on my own.  Can we just keep this between us for now?”

“Oh, Rosie, are you sure?  If you don’t do something quickly you could end up pregnant.” Replied Molly concerned

“I could already be pregnant, Grandma.  And yes, I’m sure.” Replied Rose

At this Molly came over and wrapped Rose in a crushing hug, telling her it would be OK, that she would love her regardless.

Finally, Harry spoke up and said, “Molly, do you mind if I have a word with Rose, alone?”

She broke away from Rose and said, “sure.  Just don’t keep her long, she needs to eat something, especially now.” Then she turned and went back into the kitchen leaving them alone.

Harry was hugging her before the door even closed, and said softly, “Rose, you don’t have to do this…we can get you those pills. I’m so sorry.  I’ve never forgotten before…it was all just so surprising and intense that I didn’t think…I couldn’t think about anything other than touching you.  I think part of me knew that if I stopped to think, I would talk myself out of it, and I wanted you so badly, I couldn’t take it.  I’m so sorry, Rose.”

Rose looked up into his eyes and pulled his face closer so that she could give him a gentle kiss and replied, “don’t be sorry.  I’m not.  I forgot as well.  I forgot to take the potion before and I forgot the spell last night.  It was the furthest thing from my mind.  I was so wrapped up in you and I couldn’t believe it was actually happening, there was nothing that would have been able to stop us last night.  We were so addicted to each others touch…”  She gently rubbed his cheek with her thumb and gave him another small kiss then continued, “Harry…I don’t know what will happen, I mean what are the chances that I’m pregnant?”

“I don’t know Rose, it depends on a few things…where you are in your cycle, how fertile you are, how fertile I am.  I know I didn’t have any problems with conceiving James, Al and Lily but that was a long time ago and I’m old now.” Said Harry

“You’re not old, Harry, you’re older, there’s a big difference.  I would guess that I’m probably pretty fertile since I’m young, and I’m about halfway through my cycle this month…so I still have 2 weeks before my period.” Replied Rose

“Well, then, I guess the chances of you being pregnant are pretty high.” Said Harry heavily.  “Why don’t we just get you those pills Rose.  You’re so young, and this is so complicated.”

“Is that what you want? Or is that just the easiest thing to do?” asked Rose

Harry looked at her for a long time before answering, “No, yes.”

“Come again?” asked Rose, confused.

He smiled at her and kissed her softly then pulled away and said, “No, it’s not what I want.  Yes, it’s the easy way out.” He paused a minute before continuing, “but Rose, you have your whole life ahead of you.  You’re so young and this would ruin all your plans, everything would change because of this one night where we both forgot.  I don’t want to ruin your life.”

Rose wound her hands in Harry’s hair, one on the top of his head the other on the back, and she pulled him roughly down to her, passionately kissing him.  Then she stopped and said, “YOU,” she kissed him again, stopped and said, “COULD,” she kissed him again, stopped and said, “NEVER,” she kissed him again, stopped and said, “RUIN,” she kissed him again, stopped and said, “MY LIFE.” Then she kissed him so fiercely that after a minute she had to pull away breathless and shakily said, “Last night changed my life, whether I’m pregnant or not.  I may have only had sex with one other person, and kissed only a few more than that, but I have never felt anything close to what I felt last night.  It was electric…like my whole body was singing with every touch.  Is that how it normally feels?”

Harry chuckled and said, “No, Rose, that’s not how it normally feels. I’ve had plenty of great sex but never anything like that. It was amazing.”

“Will you tell me what it felt like for you?” asked Rose shyly

He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose before replying, “it’s hard to explain.  Every single touch, no matter where it was, left my body humming.  Like something all of a sudden clicked and turned on all my nerves, and everything felt so good.  I don’t know…people always talk about soul mates and I’ve never really believed in any of that but last night it just seemed like we were made for each other.  Didn’t it?”

Rose smiled broadly and replied, “yeah, it did.” She kissed him briefly and then said, “We should go back in before they send someone to come get us.”

He nodded and reluctantly stepped away from her, then he said, “you know, we were interrupted earlier…what do you say we pick back up where we left off when we’re done here?”

“You read my mind.” Replied Rose smirking, then she turned and made her way back to the kitchen. 


	2. Spoiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry spoils Rose...

I do not own Harry Potter.

The rest of the dinner went on without any problems; except for Molly insisting Rose eat more.  Rose told everyone she was going to head back to her friends house and left first, going home and then to Harry’s so that no one would hear her say Grimmauld Place when she flooed.  Harry then left a few minutes after her, heading home. 

Upon entering his house he was attacked with kisses from Rose, making him laugh heartily.  They continued where they had left off earlier barely able to keep their hands off each other.  They fell twice trying to get upstairs without separating and had a good laugh each time.  They finally made it up to his room and were quick to undress each other, only stopping to cast the contraception charm.  What’s done was done but they certainly didn’t want to tempt the fates.  They spent the next couple hours getting to know each other’s bodies, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.  They eventually were satiated and were just lying in each others arms…

“Harry, I think we should wait to find out if I’m pregnant.  Do you mind if I wait to find out the muggle way instead of doing the spell in a couple days?”

“It’s up to you Rose, but why do you want to wait?” replied Harry

“We’re just so new and I don’t want to rush anything…well more than we already have.  If I wait to find out the muggle way it will probably be another two months before we know.  This will give us time to see what this is and how we feel about each other.  I want to know what we’re like together before I think about a baby.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want.”

“This way if we think it’s serious, we can tell everyone before we find out and they won’t think we’re together just because I was pregnant, “ said Rose hesitantly

Harry turned towards her and kissed her passionately, then said, “Rose, I’m pretty certain already it’s serious.”

She gave him a radiant smile in response, kissed him sweetly and then said, “me too.”

They sat quietly together for a few minutes before Rose spoke up again saying, “you know, even if I am pregnant we don’t have to tell them as soon as we find out.  We can wait a couple months before telling them.”

“Whatever you want Rose, but we have to tell them before your 5 months…if you are pregnant.” Replied Harry kissing her forehead and pulling her closer.

“Deal.” Replied Rose smiling.

“Ok, now that that’s settled, we should go out and do normal date stuff for the next couple months.  Let me court you properly and spoil you like you deserve.” Said Harry

Rose propped herself on top of him and looked down smiling, then said, “Does that mean that we’ll have to leave the bedroom?”

Harry laughed and said, “yes for a little bit, but I promise I’ll help you through it.”

She smiled and kissed him in response and then Harry said, “Come on, let’s go get some dinner, I didn’t eat that much at Molly’s and I’m famished.”

Rose groaned in response to Harry getting out of bed.  He turned and reached for her hand and pulled her up, then gathered her clothes and handed them to her.  She huffed but got dressed as Harry did. They went to a small restaurant in muggle London and had a nice quiet dinner, enjoying each other’s company.  It was nearly midnight when they got back to Harry’s and unfortunately Rose needed to head home…

Harry was passionately kissing her, then he moved to her neck and whined, “I don’t want you to go…can’t you stay with me?”

Rose laughed and said, “sure, let me just tell my Dad I’ll be spending the night in your bed, I’m sure he won’t mind at all.”

Harry groaned and kissed her one last time before letting her go to the floo.  She turned back to him, smirked, and said, “this will give you time to think up all the things you want to do with me.”

He grinned and replied, “you little minx,” then he said, “I’m taking you out again tomorrow night, do you have a preference as to where we go?”

She smiled and answered, “no, surprise me.”  She then activated the floo and went home blowing a kiss to him as she left.

As soon as she was gone Harry got to work planning their date for tomorrow night as well as their dates for the next two months.   He was sticking with muggle things, as they didn’t want everyone to know about them yet.  He had never been so grateful that Hermione insisted he get a computer and internet access.  He was able to buy tickets to concerts, plays, opera’s, and movie’s as well as make dinner reservations.  When he was done his bank account in Gringotts was considerably smaller but he was giddy with excitement.  Tomorrow, he would ask his assistant to help him pick out some fancy dresses for Rose.  After all he was the boss, and he never slacked off.

The next morning he practically skipped into work, with a huge grin on his face.  His assistant Christina was quite surprised by this and it took her a minute to realize he was talking to her.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Potter, could you repeat that?” asked Christina

He laughed and said, “Christina, I would like you to cancel any appointments I have today.  We will be out of the office for the day.”

She looked at him curiously and replied, “sure, Mr. Potter, I can do that.  Wait, did you say WE will be out of the office?”

Harry smiled broadly and replied, “yes, WE.  I was hoping that you would be able to help me with something, if you don’t mind, that is.”

“I don’t mind at all, I was just surprised.”

“Now, this is top secret, Christina, so you won’t be able to tell the masses about it.  Is that alright with you?” asked Harry smirking

“Of course.  I will not tell a soul Mr. Potter, you have my word.” Replied Christina sincerely.

“Excellent.  Now, let’s plan on leaving here in an hour.” Said Harry getting up and going to his office, shutting the door behind him.  He wrote a quick note to Rose asking her to meet him at his house at 5pm that night.  Then he called his house elf and asked that he deliver the note.  He also asked if the elf could first find out what size clothes and shoes Rose wore, without letting her know what the elf was doing.  The elf returned half an hour later with everything Harry had asked for as well as a response from Rose, with only two words on it, “can’t wait.” Harry smiled and wrote down the measurements the elf had gotten.  Just as they were finishing Christina knocked on his door.

“Come in”

“Mr. Potter, I’ve rescheduled all the appointments that you had today, so I’m ready to go whenever you are.” Said Christina

“Brilliant Christina, thank you.  Why don’t you come in and I can tell you what we will be doing today.” Replied Harry

Christina came in and closed the door behind her then sat down in a chair across from his desk with a quill and magical notepad ready.

Harry laughed and said, “you won’t be needing those for this assignment, Christina.  I need your help with something personal.” He paused and she nodded for him to continue.  “You see I’ve met someone special and I have all these dates planned to go to the theatre, opera, concerts, and the like and I want to buy her the clothes that she will need for these events.  The problem is that I’m a wizard and I have no idea about witch’s clothes and I want her to like what I buy.  Do you think you can help me?”

Christina squealed in delight and jumped up out of her chair making Harry laugh again.  “That’s fantastic that you’ve met someone!  I’m sooooo happy for you, really!  I would love to help you pick out the right outfits for her.”

“That’s great, Christina, thank you so much.  I had my house elf get her measurements this morning and we are going to be mainly in the muggle world so I thought we could start off at Harrods. Does that sound OK?” asked Harry worriedly

“Mr. Potter, that sounds like a great idea but…”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s just that Harrods is a really expensive store.”

“Oh, that’s it.  You had me worried.  Money’s not a problem.  Oh and Christina if you are going to spend the day helping me, I insist that you call me Harry.  I know the Ministry has all these rules about addressing me as Mr. Potter, but we won’t be working today.  What do you say?”

“I think I can handle that…Harry.” Replied Christina smiling then she asked, “if you don’t mind me asking, why me?  I mean wouldn’t one of your friends be better for this?”

“Well no one knows about us yet and we would like to keep it that way for a few more months, even from our friends.  Plus, she’s younger than me so I need someone that is younger and knows muggle fashion to help me.  And you are the perfect person for that.” Finished Harry smiling.

Christina laughed and said, “I do love shopping!  Now, tell me exactly where you are going and what you want to get her.”

Harry pulled out his planner (which Hermione had given him of course) and showed Christina.  There were 15 special events over the next two months and Harry indicated that there would also be less formal nights involving museums, movies, and various restaurants, as well as a few sporting events. 

Christina looked up at Harry and said, “Wow, you must really like this witch if you have all this planned.”

Harry beamed proudly and said, “I do.”

She smiled and said, “now, how many outfits would you like to get?  If we bought a few formal outfits and a few casual that should be enough.”

Harry shook his head no and replied, “No, I want her to have a new outfit for each night.”

Christina looked at him in shock and finally replied, “Harry, you’re talking about 15 formal outfits and at least as many casual ones, plus shoes and accessories…that’s going to cost a fortune.”

“Christina, money is not an issue.  I want to spoil her…she deserves it and it will make me happy to do so. Now, should we get going?” asked Harry getting up.

“Alright, let’s get shopping!” replied Christina jumping up out of her chair.  She then cast a few charms on herself to change her clothes slightly and cushion her shoes.  Then they exited the Ministry and apparated near Harrods only having to walk a short distance to the store.  Christina lead Harry to the personal shopper floor and had a brief conversation with an uppity looking woman while Harry took a seat on one of the couches.  Christina came over and joined him and a few minutes later a young man in his early 20’s dressed in the latest trendy designs approached them.  Christina smiled genuinely; she was relieved that they would be able to get the help they needed here.

He held out his hand and said, “Hello, my name is Devin and I would love to be able to help you today.”

Christina introduced herself and explained that she was here to help Harry with selecting the right outfits for his love.  Harry smiled and held his hand out, introducing himself as Mr. Potter.

Devin shook his hand and then said, “you’re not related to a Miss Lily Potter, are you?”

Harry chuckled and said, “Yes, that would be my daughter.”

“Oh my, how fabulous!  I help Lily every time she comes for the new season’s clothes.  She has quite the eye for fashion that one.” Gushed Devin

“Yes, she certainly does.  My bank account can attest to that.” Replied Harry laughing.

Devin laughed and then started asking questions about Rose and what Harry was looking for, “Now tell me about this love of yours…. is she tall?”

“She’s my height.”

“Do you know what sizes she wears?”

“Yes, here are her measurements.” Said Harry handing the list over.

“Fabulous.  Now, tell me about her features…What color hair does she have?”

“Long reddish brown hair.”

“Eyes?”

“Blue.”

“What about her style?”

“Well she’s younger than me, so she’s into the type of clothes that your age group wears.  She wore these incredibly high heels with a short skirt and a tank top the other night.  But she also wears jeans and t-shirts all the time and sun dresses with flip flops.” Replied Harry smiling

Devin smiled and said, “well it sounds like she has great fashion sense and likes a variety of things.  That will work out well for us.  Let me bring you to a private showroom and I will have someone bring you some tea while I gather some outfits.  I understand you are looking for 15 formal outfits and 15 casual outfits.  What about shoes and accessories, will you need those as well?”

Harry nodded and said, “yes, everything that she would need to make the outfit complete.  This will all be a surprise, so I will have her come over and then I will tell her where we are going and tell her everything she needs is waiting for her upstairs. And I should probably get extra’s just in case she doesn’t like something.”

Devin clapped his hands and said, “Brilliant, simply brilliant!  Now, let me get started and I’ll be back shortly.”  He practically ran from the room and Harry chuckled at his enthusiasm. 

Harry got up and looked out the floor to ceiling windows that made up the back wall.  It was a fantastic view and before he knew it the tea was there and then shortly after that the room was a flurry of activity.  There were at least a dozen people in the room; some putting outfits together, some matching the shoes with the outfits, some putting lingerie, and others adding accessories.  Christina did a great job and Harry only had to comment here and there when he didn’t like something, which wasn’t very often.  After only two hours they had picked out the 15 formal and 15 casual outfits.  Harry then indicated he would like a back up outfit for each event type and after another hour they had an additional 5 formal and 5 casual outfits.  He was thrilled with everything and happily handed over his credit card.

After making arrangements for delivery of everything except the one outfit Harry took with him, they left Gringotts.

“Harry, I don’t mean to pry but do you have a walk in closet to put everything you just bought in?” asked Christina

Harry stopped walking and turned to look at her…he didn’t even think of that!

Seeing the look on Harry’s face, she chuckled and said, “if you want I’m pretty good with closet organizing spells, I could help you.  I mean the rest of the clothes aren’t coming until tomorrow, so we could probably put something together by then.”

Harry smiled gratefully and replied, “I would really appreciate that Christina.  I didn’t even think about where everything was going to go.  Are you sure you don’t mind helping me some more?”

“Not at all, Harry.  I had a great time today and I’d be happy to help with the closet.  It will make a better presentation to your love as well.  You can set everything up for her and she’ll be floored!” replied Christina enthusiastically.

So they headed back to Harry’s to start work on a closet for all of Rose’s new things.  Harry showed Christina his room, which he found very awkward.   After looking around for a few minutes, she said, “Harry, there’s not much I can do in here, do you have a spare room that we could use as a walk in closet instead?”

He smiled, relieved that they wouldn’t have to spend the rest of the day together in his bedroom then replied, “yeah, there’s a spare room across the hall,” and he walked over and opened the door.  It was a medium sized room that was currently being used as a guest bedroom.  Christina walked around the room for a few minutes silently thinking and turned to him smiling and said, “this is perfect.  If you move all the furniture out, I will start coming up with a layout and then we can put it together.”

“Great, I’ll start moving things now.” Replied Harry

Christina nodded and pulled out a pen and notepad from her bag and started sketching.  A half hour later the room was completely empty.  After performing some cleaning charms, replacing the thick dark curtains with thin white ones and changing the walls and carpet to white, they were ready to start putting together the closet.  Christina showed Harry the sketch and asked if he knew how to do any of the spells to build it…he was somewhat ashamed that he didn’t.  But after a few minutes of tutoring he was ready to go and they got to work.  After another half hour Harry heard the floo activate downstairs and heard someone calling him…

“I’ll be right back Christina.” Said Harry leaving the room to head downstairs.  “Hello”

“Harry, are you here?” asked who he knew to be Hermione

He smiled and rounded the corner to find Hermione in his living room looking worried, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I was worried about you.  I stopped by your office and they said you had cancelled all your appointments and left for the day.  I was worried you were sick or something.  You never take a day off…are you alright?” said Hermione quickly

Harry smiled at his best friend and replied, “yes, I’m fine.  I’m sorry I worried you.  I had some things I needed to do today.  I just got home about an hour ago actually.   So what brought you to my office today?”

She raised her eyebrows at his evasiveness but let it be for now.  “I wanted to talk about you and Rose, actually.” 

In response to this she saw Harry immediately get defensive.  He crossed his arms in front of him and set his jaw stonily. Then he said, “who’s asking, Hermione my best friend, or Hermione my girlfriends mother?”

She frowned in response.  She wasn’t used to Harry talking to her like this, they had always been so close and now he was weary of her.  She sat down on the couch and sighed.  “Look Harry, I know this is weird but please don’t push me away.  I just wanted to talk with you and see what was going on.  We haven’t really had a chance since this all happened.”

Harry let out a long breath and ran his hands through his hair then sat down across from Hermione.  “I know, you’re right.  It’s just I’m so happy right now, I don’t want anyone to ruin it…. and well I’m not ready to have a conversation with my girlfriends mother yet about what my intentions are.”

Hermione smiled at him and said, “well, I’m glad you’re happy.  If it makes you feel better, I’m not ready to have that conversation with my daughters boyfriend yet either.”

They both chuckled a little at that then Hermione asked, “are you going to tell everyone?”

“Yeah, but we’re going to wait a few more weeks to tell everyone.  This way everyone will be used to the idea that we are dating someone and then they’ll find out who it is.” Replied Harry

Hermione nodded and then said, “I know I don’t need to tell you this but be careful that the press doesn’t catch wind of this before you tell everyone.”

“I will.  We’ll probably stick to the muggle world most of the time.” Replied Harry

“Harry, I don’t know how else to put this so I’m just going to say it, OK?” asked Hermione.  Seeing Harry nod she continued, “I know Rose is of age, but Ron won’t appreciate her sleeping over her boyfriends house.”

“I know Mione, I have a daughter as well.” Replied Harry pensively

“Harry?”

“Yes?”

“She seems quite happy as well.”

Harry smiled genuinely at her in response.  Just then Christina came down the stairs calling for Harry and came into the living room.  Hermione raised her eyebrows at seeing another woman in Harry’s house and looked towards Harry for an explanation.

“Oh, sorry, Harry, I didn’t realize you had company.” Said Christina smiling at Hermione

Noticing Hermione didn’t smile back Harry felt the need to explain. “Hermione, you remember Christina, my assistant, she was helping me today.”

Hermione nodded at Christina and then turned back to Harry and said, “what was she helping you with at your house, out of work?”

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair knowing Hermione was clearly thinking something else was going on and she wasn’t going to leave it alone until she got the truth. “Merlin Hermione, why do you have to know everything” he said under his breath, then said louder, “Christina helped me buy some things for the new girl I’m dating and I bought so much that we realized I needed to fix a closet up to keep them all.  So we were working on the closet when you arrived.”

At this Christina jumped up and down and squealed saying, “oh she knows!  Mrs. Weasley, I’m so excited for him.  It’s about time he found a girl that made him happy and after spending the day with him shopping for her, I can tell he really likes her!”

Harry blushed and Hermione smiled at Christina, who continued saying, “I came down to tell you I was finished with the closet, do you want to come up and take a look?”

“I would love to see what you’ve done, Christina.  You don’t mind do you, Harry?” said Hermione standing up

“Mione, it’s a surprise.” Said Harry

“I promise, I won’t tell, Harry.” Replied Hermione

“Fine.”

“Oh good, it will help to have another witches opinion.  We did the whole thing white but I’m wondering if we should add an accent color…” said Christina walking back up the stairs with Hermione following her and Harry grudgingly following behind.

Hermione gasped and stopped in her tracks when she walked into the room, causing Harry to walk right into her. 

“So, what do you think?” asked Christina

Hermione was speechless but Harry looked around and smiled, then said, “it’s perfect Christina.”

Christina then went around the room and showed Harry where to put everything that was coming tomorrow but after 5 minutes she saw his overwhelmed look and asked, “do you want me to help you set everything up when Harrods delivers it?”

He smiled sheepishly and nodded making her laugh. 

Hermione finally regained her speech and said, “Harry, this is a big surprise for someone that you just started dating…”

Harry just crossed his arms and stared at her, choosing not to respond.

She wavered slightly but continued, “It’s just that most people start small, like giving someone part of their closet or a drawer in a dresser, they usually don’t jump right to the custom walk in closet.”

Again Harry said nothing while he continued to stare at her defiantly.

Christina felt bad for him so she spoke up and said, “well to be fair to Harry, we did look in his room first, but I told him it wouldn’t work.  He just bought too much stuff for her to fit it in his closet and there wasn’t enough space in there to add another closet.  I asked him if he had a spare room we could use and this is what we came up with.  Do you think it’s too much?” asked Christina worriedly

“No, Christina, it’s perfect.” Said Harry then he turned back to Hermione and said, “my date will be here soon, so you should probably go.”

Hermione looked hurt when he said that but he was pissed.  Why couldn’t she just be happy for them?

She knew she said the wrong thing and was surprised how upset he got.  “Harry… I’m sorry.  I just wasn’t expecting this…but it is beautiful.  I think she’ll love it.  Honestly.”  She said making eye contact with Harry and smiling.  He smiled back, and she let out a sigh of relief.  Being in the middle was going to be harder than she thought. 

Then she turned to Christina and said, “you did a fantastic job and no, I don’t think it’s too much, although I can’t imagine how you could possibly fill up all this space.”

Christina laughed and said, “come back tomorrow after the delivery and you’ll be surprised.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows but left it alone.  She walked around and looked at the room objectively and said, “I think you’re right about an accent color though.”  After a few more minutes she said, “Gold.  I think she would be happy with a little gold accented throughout the room.”

Harry nodded and Christina started adding small gold accents around the room.  It really made everything pop and Harry couldn’t stop smiling.  When they were finished, he walked them both to the floo and thanked them for all the help.  He then saw that he only had a half hour before Rose arrived and he wanted to lay her clothes out on the bed for her and shower so he dashed back up the stairs to do that. 

When Rose arrived she called, “Harry, I’m here.”

“I’ll be right down,” replied Harry.  He finished tidying up Rose’s things and grabbed his Tuxedo jacket to put on.  He walked down the stairs and made his way into the living room.  When he entered the room Rose gasped and said, “Harry, you look amazing.”

He grinned and said, “thank you.” Then he walked over to her and kissed her passionately for several minutes before pulling away and saying, “I missed you today.”

She smiled and said, “You couldn’t have missed me as much as I missed you.  I think I spent the whole day thinking about you and all the things I want to do to you.  In fact, I’m sure I was blushing several times throughout the day.”

Harry grinned and said, “I can’t wait to let you but first we have a date.”

She nodded and then said, “Harry, I appear to be underdressed.  Where are we going?”

“I’ll tell you where we are going after.  Right now, I have a surprise for you in my room that should do for the night. Go ahead and I’ll wait here for you.” Replied Harry evasively.

She looked at him for a moment and then gave in saying, “oh all right, but only because I love surprises,” and then she dashed up the stairs leaving him chuckling in the living room.  A minute later he heard a squeal of delight and Rose called down to him, “Harry, it’s beautiful!”

He smiled and yelled up to her, “I’m glad you like it, now put it on so we can go.  I’m famished!”

She laughed in response and went to get ready.  About 20 minutes later she came down the stairs and Harry was speechless.  She was simply breathtaking.  He walked over to her and gently kissed her.  She looked at him shyly and he said, “Rose, you’re breathtaking.  Simply beautiful.”

She kissed him again and said, “thank you.  Now, Mr. Potter, where are we going?” 

He smiled and replied, “We are going to dinner and then to the theatre.”

Rose squealed in delight and said, “I love the theatre!”

“I know.” Replied Harry smugly, offering his arm to Rose.  They walked out of the house to the car to head out for the evening. When they were on their way Rose spoke up, “Harry, what time do you think we’ll get home tonight?”

“Well, I think the theatre is finished at 10, why?”

Rose smirked then replied, “I just wanted to make sure we had time later for me to properly thank you.”

Needless to say Harry was so happy he couldn’t stop smiling…

Harry and Rose had just been seated at a cozy table in a fancy restaurant.  The setting was very romantic, with dim lights and candlelight everywhere.  Rose was smiling happily at him and he couldn’t contain his happiness either.  Rose moved her chair so she was closer to Harry and grabbed his hand, bringing it up to her lips to kiss it.

“So Harry since this is a proper date, I feel like I should ask you questions about yourself.  Do you mind?” asked Rose

“Of course not, Rose, but you probably know everything already.”

“I may know a little but I’ve never heard you talk about a lot of things, like why you became an Auror.  I mean I would think after your childhood you would want to be done with dark wizards?” asked Rose

“I know, you would think that but as soon as I found out about aurors, I was convinced that was what I wanted to be.  Even after Voldemort was finally dead, there were still all these death eaters to capture.  I guess I had been fighting dark wizards all my life and it was all I knew how to do.” Replied Harry

“Do you enjoy it?”

“I…I used to.  Lately I’ve been feeling like something’s missing.  It’s just a job to me now.”

“Have you ever thought about doing something else?” asked Rose

“Not really.  There are some cool jobs I wouldn’t mind trying, like a curse breaker, or maybe working with dragons.” Replied Harry

Rose laughed in response and said, “clearly much tamer than being an auror.  Never a dull day at the office for you.”

Harry chuckled and said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  Mostly, I would like to travel more.  There are so many places I haven’t had the time to see yet.  But what about you…what would you like to do?”

“Well, I told my family that I wanted to be a healer and I applied to the training program at St. Mungo’s.”

“But?”

Rose smiled and said, “between you and me, I really want to be an unspeakable.  I had an interview with them a couple of weeks ago and I’m on their short list of finalists.  They only hire and train two new recruits a year so it’s a long shot but I would be so excited to do that.”

Harry smiled at her and said, “That’s a huge accomplishment Rose, congratulations!  But why did you tell you’re parents that you wanted to be a healer?”

“Harry, come on, my Mom is brilliant.  She could do anything she wanted when she was my age but I’m not like her and I didn’t want her to be disappointed in me when I didn’t get in.”

“Rose, your mother could never be disappointed in you.  She loves you too much.” Said Harry reassuringly.

“Still, I needed to have a back up plan and being a healer is a safe choice for me.  I have the grades for it and I do find it interesting.” Replied Rose

The waitress then came over and brought them some drinks and appetizers and they ordered their meal.  When she had left, they began feeding each other small bites of food.  After a few minutes of this Harry asked, “So what do you find exciting about being an unspeakable?”

Rose smiled and kissed him for a moment before answering, “everything.  But what I really want to study is old magic.  Magic that there is no spell for, magic that isn’t cast.  I’m mostly interested in the field of Love Magic.” 

“Tell me more,” said Harry

“Well, it’s the kind of magic that people say is responsible for soul bonds.  It’s also the magic that saved your life when you were a baby, but no one really knows how it works.  No one knows if everyone is capable of using this type of magic or if only the really powerful can.”

“How can you study that type of magic though, if it can’t be cast?”

“Well, that’s the exciting part…it’s a lot of research and coming up with theories. Then narrowing down your hypothesis and testing it by creating experimental spells and looking at memories of previous love magic events.” Replied Rose excitedly

Harry was in awe of how happy Rose was talking about this.  It was quite contagious and he couldn’t help but reach out and pull her in for a passionate kiss.  Luckily they were in a private area so no one noticed.  After a minute he pulled away and Rose asked breathily, “what was that for?”

“For being amazing.” Replied Harry simply

She blushed in response

“You said that you can study previous events of love magic by looking at people’s memories…how come no one asked to see my memories?” asked Harry

“They were probably afraid to ask you…. I mean you’re you.” Replied Rose

Harry laughed and said, “Yes, I am me.”

Rose playfully slapped his arm and said, “oh, you know what I mean.  You defeated one of the darkest wizards of all time.  That’s pretty intimidating.  Who in their right mind would ask you if they could see a memory of the most tragic event in your life?”

Harry nodded in response and after a few moments he said, “I’ll tell you what, if you get a spot as an unspeakable, and you will, I’ll give you a copy of my memory.”

“Harry, you don’t have to do that.  That’s a very private memory.” Replied Rose genuinely.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to, Rose.” Said Harry squeezing her hand gently.

She kissed him briefly and pulled away just in time for the food to be placed on their table.  They talked about the different places they had traveled to, their favorite parts in each place and the places each of them would like to see in the future.  Harry seemed to want to visit places near the ocean and Rose wanted to visit places because of the different types of animals there.   They continued to enjoy their quiet dinner feeding each other frequently. 

After the theatre they made it home quickly with Rose starting to undress Harry in the car.  He was quite amused and by the time they made it inside his jacket and tie were gone and his shirt was halfway undone.  The moment the door closed she pushed him against it and began undoing his pants.  Once they were gone, Harry reached out to her and pulled her to him, ravishing her mouth.  He quickly spun her around so that he could undo her dress and she let it fall to the floor, stepping out of it.  He growled in appreciation and grabbed her by the waist and started to walk them towards the stairs.  Rose stopped him and said, “no, I can’t wait.”  She then lay down on the floor and pulled Harry towards her.  He seemed to be fighting an internal battle about taking her on the floor but her next words made up his mind, “Harry, please, I need you now.”  Harry happily obliged and they made love on the floor. 

Afterwards, while they were trying to catch their breath, Harry started to laugh.  “What are you laughing at?” asked Rose turning to look at him.

“I can’t believe we couldn’t make it to the bedroom!  I mean it would have taken us less than a minute to get there.” Said Harry still laughing

She smiled and replied, “it would have been a minute too long.  I don’t like to be kept waiting.  You’d do well to remember that, Mr. Potter.”  She then kissed him passionately and climbed on top of him, making them both groan in pleasure.

“And what may I ask will happen if I make my lady wait?” asked Harry in his most superior tone.

“Why you would be punished, of course.” Replied Rose breathily.

Harry moaned at that response and asked, “Pray, tell, what would my punishment be Miss Weasley?”

Rose kissed him fiercely then replied, “well that would depend on how naughty you were Mr. Potter.”

Harry was so turned on by that response he couldn’t hold back any more so he flipped them over and started to show Rose just how naughty he was.  Several cries of ecstasy later Rose was barely able to put two words together.

“Harry…”

“Yes, Love?”

“That…was…”

Harry smirked and said, “That was what, Love?”

“Incredible.”

“What can I say, love, I’m a naughty boy.” Said Harry cockily

She laughed into his chest and started kissing him all over.

Harry groaned and said, “Merlin, Witch, you are insatiable.”

She nodded and continued kissing his chest moving slowly downwards.

He sighed and dropped his head back enjoying her attention when he noticed the time on the clock above them.  “Rose, it’s almost midnight…” he started to say then he gasped and said, “sweet Merlin, Rose!”

She met his gaze and continued lavishing her attention on him

“Rose….”

She began working faster

“Oh Rose!”

She started to hum in response

“Please don’t stop!” was the last coherent thing that Harry said.  After several more minutes of this Harry was in much the same state that Rose had been in not too long ago.

“Rose…”

“Yes, Love?”

“That…. was…”

Rose smirked and said, “That was what, Love?”

“Amazing.”

“What can I say, love, I’m a naughty girl.” Said Rose cockily

They both laughed in response and eventually they proceeded to get up and get Rose back into some clothes so that she could go home.  After she was dressed Harry kissed her tenderly and said, “I had a great time tonight.”

“I did too.”

“I’m probably going to be working late tomorrow so how about we get together again the following night?” asked Harry

She pouted for a minute then replied, “how about I bring a book over tomorrow night and wait for you in your bed.”

Harry grinned and said, “I like that idea, but I don’t know how late I will be and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Oh trust me Harry, you could never disappoint.” Rose replied cheekily

He blushed and she squealed in delight, he looked absolutely adorable when he blushed and she started to kiss him all over again…

“Rose, you have to go home…” groaned Harry

She huffed indignantly and replied, “fine.  But don’t forget I’ll be waiting for you in bed tomorrow night and I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

Harry smiled and said, “I’ll do my best to be home as soon as I can Rose.  Good night, Love.”

“Good night, Harry.” Said Rose walking to the floo, she threw the powder in and just before she stepped in she turned and said, “Oh, Harry.  If you make me wait too long, I’ll just have to start without you.” And then she was gone, but not before she caught the look of shock on Harry’s face.  His mouth was hanging wide open and he looked like a feather would knock him over.  It was good to keep him on his toes.  Now she just had to plan what to wear tomorrow night.

The next day was just as crazy as Harry had anticipated.  He had to go through all the applications for potential auror trainees.  There were six people including Harry looking through hundreds of applications.  Spending his day in a conference room going through countless files wasn’t his idea of a great day.  One of the things Harry had done when he took over the department was have all applications de-identified prior to receiving them, so that only the best aurors would be selected and not those who had connections.  The process was extremely competitive with only 25 spots open.  The only break that Harry had taken was when he brought Christina to his house to accept the Harrod’s delivery.  He had grabbed a quick sandwich on his way back but now he realized he was quite hungry.  He looked at his watch and saw that it was past 8pm and groaned.  “I think that’s enough for today everyone.  We’ve made a lot of progress, so let’s pick this up again in the morning.”

Everyone was happy to go and they said their goodbyes quickly.  Harry went to his office and took care of a couple things that needed his attention and then headed home a little after 9pm.  He was so tired when he got home that he threw his robes on the couch, walked to the kitchen and grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and started to eat them on his way upstairs.  He just wanted to take a shower and get some sleep.  He stopped and looked in at Rose’s new closet to see what Christina had done with everything.  He was quite impressed with it really, and he hoped she would like it.  He would definitely try and get out earlier tomorrow so that he could take her out.  He missed her and it had only been one day.  He closed the door and smiled to himself as he walked into his room.  He put his plate of food down, and started to undress.  When he turned to head to the bathroom to shower he noticed Rose was sound asleep in his bed.  He smiled broadly and walked over to her.  He had completely forgotten she said she was going to wait for him tonight.  He leaned down and brushed some hair out of her face and removed the book from her lap, noticing it was on dance choreography, and kissed her cheek.  She turned towards him and slowly opened her eyes, “Harry.”

“Hi, love.”

Rose stretched much like a cat and said, “I missed you.  The bed is so lonely without you.”

Harry smiled and said, “well, thank you for keeping it warm for me.  I’m just going to take a quick shower and then I’ll be in to join you.”

Rose pouted and wrapped her arms around his neck and whined, “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Harry laughed and gave her a quick kiss then said, “I promise I’ll be quick.”

She reluctantly let him go and curled up again in bed, drifting in and out of sleep.  Harry was true to his word and not even 10 minutes later he was climbing into bed with Rose. 

“Hey beautiful.” Whispered Harry into Rose’s ear.

“Mmmmm” replied Rose moving closer to him

He noticed as he wrapped his arms around her that she wasn’t wearing any clothes, which made him incredibly turned on.

“Rose, you little minx, are you naked?”

“Yes…do you like it?”

“I love it.” Replied Harry and then he kissed her passionately pulling her on top of him.

She moaned and pulled away after a few minutes and started to kiss him all over his chest and neck making him moan. 

Suddenly Harry flipped them over and was above Rose gazing down at her and said, ”you’re so incredibly beautiful Rose.”

She blushed in response and he chuckled while kissing his way down her body.  She started to tense up the lower he got and when he started to kiss her inner thigh she started tugging on his arm and said, “Harry”

He looked up at her questioningly and she said, “Harry, you don’t have to…”

“Rose, I want to.” He replied and started to kiss her thigh again but she tugged on him again and then it occurred to him, “Rose, has anyone done this for you before?”

She blushed and shook her head no

Harry grinned broadly and said, “relax, love, I promise you’re going to love it.”

She laid back again and Harry could tell she was still tense so he started rubbing his hands up and down her thighs to relax her and then slowly started kissing her where no one else had before.  She gasped and Harry smiled but continued showing her how great he could make her feel.  After a few minutes, she was moaning quite loudly and she was squirming under him.  He took both his hands and held her hips down while he continued his ministrations with vigor. 

“Harry!”

Harry then started to speak parseltongue and she nearly screamed it felt so good.

“Sweet Merlin Harry!”

Harry then started to use his hands as well and she was writhing on the bed under him gasping, “Harry…I can’t take anymore…please…it’s too much…”

“Just relax love and enjoy it,” replied Harry before continuing.  He knew she was close and he wanted her to finish.  He began speaking parseltongue again at the same time as he was exploring her with his fingers and after another minute of this, she screamed and quickly sat up gasping for air.

“Fuck! Harry…that…. was…brilliant!” gasped Rose

Harry smiled and kissed her possessively.  After a minute he pulled away and said, “Rose, you are so sexy.”

She blushed making Harry laugh.  They both moved up the bed and lay down with Harry pulling Rose into his arms quickly.  She was still breathing heavily and he smiled knowing that he did something that no one else had done for her.

“Harry?”

“Yes, love.”

“What were you saying in parseltongue?”

Harry laughed and said, “come for me, love.”

Rose blushed and put her head in the crook of Harry’s neck to hide her embarrassment.  Harry turned just a little so that he was on his side facing her and he kissed her softly.  They kissed for a few minutes like this until it became quite passionate and Harry pulled away needing air and looked at her questioningly, surprised that she wanted to continue. 

“I want to make you feel good as well, love.” Said Rose quietly.

He grinned and started kissing her again and she pushed him on his back and climbed on top of him, straddling him.  They both moaned at the feel of it and immediately started moving.  Rose was trying to keep Harry still and do all the work but he couldn’t hold still, it felt too good and he wanted to be in control.  He started pushing his hips up as she was coming down and it felt incredible.  “Rose…I … need… more.” Begged Harry

She smiled seductively at him and nodded, which was all he needed.  He flipped their positions but turned Rose around so she was facing away from him.  He put his hand under her stomach and pulled her up on her hands and knees.  She looked back at him hesitantly and he whispered in her ear, “trust me, love, it will feel good.”  She nodded again and he entered her quickly, making her gasp and she immediately started to moan at the sensations this new position was giving her.

“Oh…Harrrrryyy…Oh…Oh…”

“Tell me Rose.  Tell me what it feels like.”

“Incredible…. Harry…fucking…incredible”

“Who makes you feel that way, Rose?”

 “You …do…Harry.”

“Fuck, Rose, I don’t know how much longer I can last...”

Rose looked back at him and made eye contact, “Harry?”

“Yeah …”

“Come for me, love.” She said smirking at him. 

He couldn’t believe she just said that to him and he was so turned on he exploded inside of her as soon as she said it.  He collapsed on top of her and they fell to the bed.  He moved off her a little so that his weight was on the bed and not on her.  He pulled her closer to him and said, “sorry, love.”

“What are you sorry for Harry?”

“That I finished so fast…and I finished before you.” Replied Harry

Rose pulled away from him and turned around so she was facing him and replied, “Don’t be silly, love, I wanted you to finish and I just had an amazing orgasm not even 10 minutes ago.”

Harry blushed slightly and kissed her.  They curled up in each other’s arms and just as Harry was drifting off to sleep, he asked, “Love, don’t you have to go home soon?”

Rose shook her head and said, “no, I told my parents I was sleeping at a friends house tonight.”

Harry smiled and happily drifted off to sleep with Rose in his arms.

 


	3. Ground Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Rose both tell their families that they're dating someone...

I do not own Harry Potter.

Rose woke up early when her cell phone alarm went off.  She shut it off quickly so that she wouldn’t wake Harry.  She spent a few minutes just watching him sleep and then got out of bed to take a quick shower.  She had a busy day ahead of her and she needed to get going.  When she came out of the shower she got dressed and then went over to the bed to wake Harry.

She cooed in his ear, “Harry.”

He groaned and rolled over making her laugh.  She kissed his neck softly and said, “Come on love, it’s time to get up.  Surely you have to be at work soon.”

He rolled over and looked at her and said, “Why are you all dressed?  When did you get up?”

She smiled and said, “I have to spend the day at the dance studio preparing for my audition next week.  I got up an hour ago, but it’s past 8 o’clock and I have to get going.”

“What audition?” asked Harry sleepily

“Didn’t I tell you?” he shook his head no and she continued, “Oh, I was asked to audition for a dance company in London.  It’s a huge honor to even be asked and there will probably be hundreds of other dancers there so I doubt I’ll make it, but I want to practice as much as I can before then so I’ll be prepared.”

“I had no idea, love.  I’m sure you’ll be great.” Replied Harry sitting up to kiss her.

She pulled away after a minute and stood up saying, “alright, love, as much as I hate to, I have to leave, Michael is already waiting for me at the studio.”

Harry frowned and said, “Who’s Michael?”

She smiled and replied, “My dance coach, silly.  He’s helping a few of us that were asked to audition work on our routines.”

Harry sat up and looked at her, she was in a tank top and tight pants with a see through skirt and leg warmers.  He raised his eyebrows and said, “Does he have to see you dressed like that?  I don’t want him to try and steal you from me.”

She laughed and said,  “You should see what some of the other dancers wear… this is nothing.” Seeing that he didn’t relax at all, she continued, “Trust me, love, he’s not interested in me or any other woman.”

He grinned and pulled her towards him making her whine, “Harry, I need to leave, sweetheart.”

“OK, fine, but will I get to see you again tonight?” pouted Harry

“Well, I should probably spend some time at home.  I was thinking that I would tell them I was seeing someone this way I could at least tell my dad I had a date when we go out.  Are you OK, with that?” asked Rose hesitantly

He smiled and kissed her then said, “Of course I’m OK with that, love.  Why don’t we spend the night apart and I’ll do the same and let Ginny and my kids know that I’m seeing someone as well.  Then tomorrow night we can go out and do something special.”

“Sounds perfect, love.  Now, I have to go.” Said Rose giving Harry a final kiss before turning to leave.

“Oh, Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“I have a surprise for you, so I’ll give it to you tomorrow night.” Said Harry grinning

Rose squealed in delight and said, “Oh, I love surprises!”

Harry got up and made his way to the bathroom to shower and said, “I know you do, love.”

She blew him a kiss and left him smiling broadly. 

Harry got ready and headed to work for another long day.  He owled Ginny when he got in asking if he could stop by and talk with all of them tonight about something.  She responded quickly that that was fine, to come at six o’clock and she would make sure all the kids were there.  He informed Christina that he needed to leave no later than 5:45 tonight and to make sure he did.  She smiled at him and told him she would make sure he left in time.  He then spent the rest of his day weaning down the applicants but by the time he left they had narrowed down the pool to 50 so he would be finished tomorrow.  He went home and changed quickly then flooed to Ginny’s.

He smiled happily when he got there and took everyone by surprise. 

“My goodness, Harry, what has you so happy?” asked Ginny taking his coat.

“That’s what I’m here to talk about.  Where are the kids?” asked Harry

“They’re in the dining room waiting for you, although they may have eaten all of the food in the few minutes we’ve been talking” laughed Ginny.

He smiled and followed her into the dining room…

“Daddy!” squealed Lily getting up and giving him a big hug.  Even though she was 16, she still acted like he was the most important person in the world, and it made him so happy.

“Hi Dad” said James and Al

“Hi guys.  How is everyone doing?” asked Harry sitting down and putting some food on his plate.

He got a bunch of mumbled responses ranging from fine to good. 

“So, Harry, you said you wanted to talk to us about something…” said Ginny

“Yeah, I did.  I wanted you to know that I’ve started seeing someone.” Replied Harry looking around at them for their reactions.  Al was avoiding making eye contact with him, and the others appeared to be waiting for Ginny to say something.

She smiled genuinely and said, “That’s fabulous Harry.  I’m so happy for you.”

He smiled back and said, “Thanks, Gin.”

Everyone relaxed and James and Lily started firing off questions at him like, “Who is she?  What’s her name?  Where did you meet her?  How old is she?  Is she nice?  Was it serious?”

Harry laughed and said, “I’m not going to tell you who it is yet, it’s still early for that but yes, she’s very nice, yes, it’s serious and I met her again at a party recently.”

“What do you mean you met her again?” asked Lily

“Well, I’ve known her for a while now, but something changed recently when I saw her at a party and it was like we just met for the first time.” Replied Harry

“Wait, so that means we must know her!” squealed Lily

Harry chuckled and said, “Yes, you do know her.  But we want to make sure it’s going to work before we tell everyone.”

“Is she hot?” asked James

“Gross, James!” yelled Al

“What?  I’m just curious?” said James

Harry said, “I’m not going to answer that, James. I just wanted you guys to know since I’ll obviously be with her a lot over the next few weeks while we figure everything out.”

“That’s so cute, Dad!” squealed Lily

“Jees, Lily, could you be any more of a girl!” said James rolling his eyes.

“I am a girl!” yelled Lily

“Al, you haven’t said much,” said Ginny

Al looked up and met his father’s eyes but only nodded.

“What’s wrong Al?” asked Lily

“Nothing’s wrong.” Replied Al looking at his plate

“Aren’t you happy for Dad?” Lily asked

“Sure.” Al replied and then stood up and left the table, leaving everyone shocked.

Harry sighed and said, “I’ll just go talk to him.”

Harry found Al in his room and went in and shut the door behind him.

“What’s going on, Al?”

“I assume it’s Rose, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re serious, then.  It wasn’t just a one time thing?”

“No, it wasn’t and yes, I’m quite serious.”

Al sighed and got up to look out his window

“Talk to me, Al.  What are you thinking?” asked Harry

“Do you really want to know?” asked Al viciously

“Yeah….”

“She 17 Dad!  The same age as me, a year younger than James and for Merlin’s sake she’s only a year older than Lily!  How would you feel if Lily was fucking someone 25 years older than her?” yelled Al

“Don’t talk to me like that and certainly don’t talk about your sister like that!” barked Harry angrily then he took a couple deep breaths and calmed down before continuing, “I am aware of everything you just said.  I am aware that it will make people uncomfortable, but it is what it is.  I’m not going to walk away from her, Al.”

“Why!” yelled Al

Harry was losing his patience now and was getting quite angry, Merlin this kid was impossible…”Why what Al?”

“Why can’t you just walk away from her…. this is going to ruin the entire family!” yelled Al

“I can’t walk away from her because I have never been this happy in my entire life Al.  So deal with it.  It’s not ideal.  I get that.  Will everyone be shocked?  Yes, they will.  Will Ron try and kill me? Probably.  But I’m not trying to ruin the entire family.  I’m just trying to live my life and be with the witch who makes me happy.  If they can’t understand that, then there’s nothing I can do about it.  I would obviously prefer it if my own children weren’t against me on this,” Said Harry earnestly.

“Merlin Dad you’re talking like you’re going to marry her!” said Al exasperatedly

Harry smiled but didn’t respond.

Al groaned and ran his hands through his hair much like Harry always does when he’s stressed.  “Just give me some time, OK.  It’s not that I don’t want you to be happy Dad, I do, and it’s just a lot to take in.  Rose and I have always been close, she’s like a sister to me.  I’ve always looked out for her and the whole idea is just freaking me out.  At first I was worried you were taking advantage of her but now I’m worried that this is just a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Al…I’m going to do everything I can so that this doesn’t turn into a disaster.  But I’m not going to leave her.” Replied Harry seriously

“Fine, I get it.” Said Al.

“Will you come back downstairs?” asked Harry

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Harry went back downstairs and everyone was still at the table waiting for him.  Ginny looked at him questioningly and he said, “He’ll be down in a minute.  He just wasn’t thrilled with me.”

“I don’t know why…he’s not usually like that, Harry.  I’m sorry.” Replied Ginny

“It’s fine.”

“Will you tell us about her?  What made you look at her differently?” asked Lily hesitantly

Harry thought for a moment then replied, “Well, she’s younger than me, so I never really thought of her in that way, but she approached me and indicated that she did see me that way and I decided to give a go.  She’s incredibly talented and passionate about what she believes in.  She loves the theatre and dance…and surprises.” He was smiling broadly the whole time he talked about Rose. 

Al was in the doorway listening to his dad without anyone noticing…

Harry continued, “She’s very petite but also very athletic.  She’s intelligent and when we talk she makes me feel like I’m the only one in the world whose opinion matters but not in that sort of fan girl way that I get all the time, it’s different.”

“Where have you been on dates?” asked Lily

“Well, we’ve been to dinner a few times, to the theatre, and we’ve stayed in a few times.  We’re going to the symphony tomorrow night.”

“Is she a muggle-born witch?” asked James

“No, she’s a half blood, just like me” replied Harry

At this point Al came back in and sat down.

“Harry, be careful of the press. You know how they are when it comes to you.  Before you know it, it’ll be all over the prophet.” Said Ginny

“Yeah, I know.  We’re sticking mostly to the muggle world to avoid anyone finding out before we want them to.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, Harry.  Truly.” Said Ginny squeezing his hand.  “Now since we are all here discussing Harry’s big news, I actually have some big news myself and I wasn’t sure how to bring it up but there’s no time like the present, right?”

Harry nodded and smiled at her.  She glanced at Al wearily and then said, “Cormac has asked me to marry him.”

There was complete silence at the table so Harry spoke up and said, “That’s wonderful, Gin.  Congratulations.”

“Really?” asked Ginny looking at Harry skeptically

“Really.  I’m happy for you.” Replied Harry genuinely.

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and looked to her kids.  They seemed to relax after Harry said that and Al was surprisingly the first to speak up, “Does he make you happy, Mum?”

“Yes, sweetie, he does.”

“Then I guess that’s all that matters, right guys?”

“Yeah, of course.  Whatever makes you happy, Mum.” Replied James

“Lily?” asked Ginny 

“I don’t have to call him Dad, do I?” asked Lily skeptically

“No, of course not!”

“Ok, then.  I’m fine with it. Although, it might be weird if he walks around the house in his boxers so maybe he could not do that while I still live here.” Replied Lily

Ginny laughed and said, “I think that’s reasonable, Lily.”

* * *

At the same time Rose was having a similar conversation with her family….

They had just sat down to eat dinner when Ron said, “Rose, sweetheart, I feel like I’ve barely seen you this past week.” 

Rose smiled and said, “Well, Dad that’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about…”

Ron nodded for her to continue while Hermione and Hugo just observed.

“I’ve been seeing someone, Dad.” Rose said hesitantly

Ron put his fork down calmly and said, “What?”

Rose gulped knowing that anytime her Dad stopped eating, it was never a good sign.  “I’m seeing someone. I’ve been dating a wizard.”

“For how long?”

“Just for a week.”

Ron smiled and picked up his fork and said, “Rose, honestly, you scared me for a second.  You’ve only been seeing this boy for a week.  It’s not like it’s serious.”  Ron laughed and resumed eating.

“Dad…it is serious.” Said Rose quietly

Ron swallowed his food and put his fork down again, sighing loudly.  “Rose, who is this boy?”

“I’m not ready to tell you yet, Dad.  I just wanted you to get used to the idea that I was dating someone before I tell you who it is.” Replied Rose hesitantly

“What?  You’re not serious, are you?” said Ron annoyed

“Yeah, I am.”

“So, you just wanted me to know you were dating someone and it was serious, but you don’t want me to know who it is?”  When Rose nodded he continued, “Rose, it can’t be that serious if you wont even introduce him to your family.”

“Dad, we just want to see how things go over the next couple of weeks before we tell everyone.” Replied Rose

“Fine.  What house is he in?”

“Ummmm….”

“He’s not in Slytherin is he?”

“No…”

“Then what house is he in?”

“He’s not, Dad.  He’s not in school anymore.”

“He’s older than you?”

“Yes.”

“How much older?”

“Older.”

“That’s not an answer, Rose.”

“Well, it’s the only answer you’re going to get right now, Dad.”

Ron pushed his plate away from him and said, “Damn it Rose!”

Hermione spoke up and said, “Ron, please.”

“What? This is ridiculous.  She’s seeing someone, who she refuses to name, who is older than her, but she refuses to tell us how much older he is.  What am I supposed to say?” asked Ron clearly frustrated

“You’re not supposed to say anything Dad!  I don’t need your permission, I was just telling you so that you would know why I wasn’t around that much over the next few weeks.” Said Rose angrily

Ron was furious, he stood up quickly and his chair clattered to the floor. “What’s that supposed to mean?  You think I’m going to let you spend the night with this bloke?  Your bloody mental if you think I’m going to let my daughter look like a slag!  Not while you’re living under my roof you’re not!”

Rose was equally angry and also stood up quickly yelling, “How dare you!  I’m not a slag and I don’t need your bloody permission to do anything! If that’s a problem for you then I won’t be living under your roof anymore!”

“I DON’T THINK SO!” yelled Ron furiously

“WATCH ME!” screamed Rose and she walked out of the kitchen and a second later they heard the front door slam shut.

“RON, WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?” yelled Hermione

“Me?  What did I do?” asked Ron

“Are you joking?  All she did was tell you she was dating someone and you called her a slag for Merlin’s sake!” yelled Hermione

“I’ll not have her spending the night with some bloke, Hermione!” snapped Ron

“You don’t have a say, Ron!  It’s her choice, she’s of age and we can’t do anything about it.”

“Then she won’t be living here!” yelled Ron and he stormed out of the room

Hermione sighed

“Mum?”

“Yeah, Hugo?”

“Rose never even said she wanted to sleep at this blokes house.  Dad just freaked out for no reason.” Said Hugo smirking 

“You’re right.  Do you want to be the one to point that out to him?” grinned Hermione

“No way, Mum.  That’s all you.” Replied Hugo laughing.

“I’ll let him stew over it for the night and see if he comes to his senses by tomorrow, if not I’ll happily point out to him what a prat he was.” Said Hermione smiling

“Do you think Rosie’s OK?” asked Hugo

“Let’s give her an hour to cool off then we’ll call her.” Replied Hermione 

“Ok, I’m going to go call Lily in case she goes there.” Said Hugo leaving the kitchen

Harry was laughing with his kids when the phone rang.  Lily had made them all sit down and play muggle board games and they were currently in the middle of Monopoly when she answered her cell phone.  The conversation sounded like this to Harry…

     “Hi Hugo”

     “No, she’s not here.”

     “What happened?”

     “Hugo, that’s so not funny! I would die if my Dad said that to me!”

     “Yeah, I’ll tell her if she comes here.”

     “Bye.”

Lily hung up the phone frowning and Harry asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, that was Hugo…he said that Rose and Uncle Ron got into a big fight and she left.” Replied Lily

“What did they fight about?” asked Harry already half knowing the answer

“I guess Rose is seeing someone and Uncle Ron called her a…”

“What did he call her Rose?” asked Harry gravely

“…A...slag,” whispered Lily.

“WHAT!” said Harry, Ginny and James jumping up out of their seats?

“I can’t believe him!  I’m going over there right now to give him a piece of my mind!” screeched Ginny heading to the floo.

“Lily, did Rose leave, is that why Hugo called?” asked Harry

“Yeah, she stormed out of the house a little while ago.” Replied Lily

“Alright, I’m going to go look for her, make sure she’s OK,” said Harry making his way to the floo.

“We’ll stay here in case she comes over.” Said James

Harry flooed home and saw that his house appeared empty.  He sighed and removed Ron from the floo access in case Rose came by later.  He wasn’t sure where Rose would go and he wanted to comfort her.  Sighing he called her on his cell but she didn’t answer.  He paced his living room for a bit then made his way to his bedroom to change, hoping that Rose would come over.  He was so distracted he didn’t notice that she was curled up in his bed.  After taking a quick shower he came back out and finally noticed her.  She was sound asleep and he immediately sighed in relief.  He crawled into bed with her and started to rub his thumb across her cheek, whispering softly to her, “Rose…Rose…Rose.”

Finally after a few minutes of this her eyes fluttered open and Harry was heartbroken to see how red and swollen they were.  “Rose, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

She looked surprised and asked, “Why are you sorry?  You didn’t do anything to me…”

He gently kissed her lips and replied, “but if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten into a fight with your Dad at all.”

“Oh Harry, please don’t be sorry.” Said Rose wrapping herself in his arms then she started to cry and did so for quite a while.   He just held her tight to him and said soothing words to her, running his hands through her hair and rubbing her back the whole time.   After a half hour of this Rose seemed to have stopped crying and he said, “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Sniffling she said, “There’s not much to tell.  I told my Dad that I was seeing someone.  I wouldn’t tell him who I was seeing which annoyed him, then he asked what house you were in and I told him you had graduated which didn’t help things.  He asked how much older than me you were and when I wouldn’t tell him he got really mad…and…called me a…slag!” Rose started crying again and continued for a few minutes.  “He said he didn’t want me sleeping at some blokes house, that he wouldn’t let me look like a slag, not while I was living with him…so I told him then I wouldn’t be living with him and I left.”

Harry sighed heavily in response

“Are you mad at me?” asked Rose timidly

Harry completely surprised by that question turned and moved away a little to look in Rose’s eyes and said, “Why on earth would I be mad at you, Rose?”

She looked away from him and quietly replied, “for coming here…for getting involved with you…for everything.”

He grabbed her and brought her closer, fiercely kissing her, letting all his passion show through the kiss.  After several minutes he pulled away and said, “I’m not mad at you Rose.  I’m thrilled that you came here and that you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you.  OK?  Now don’t think such things again…understand?”

She smiled and nodded then grabbed him and resumed kissing him.  They were quite passionate tonight, both wanting to show the other how much they were needed.  They rolled around on the bed for a long time, each trying to take control.  Harry wanted to make Rose feel better so he took his time kissing every inch of her body, making her scream in pleasure many times.  Wanting to repay the favor, Rose took control of Harry and climbed on top of him.  Because they had only been together for a short while, they were still learning what each other liked.  She was slow and methodical and Harry was begging for release after a while.  They spent many passionate hours trying new things and by the time they fell asleep the sun was starting to rise.

It was midnight and Rose still wasn’t back…Ron was feeling pretty bad about his fight with her and how he had overreacted.  He was pacing the living room waiting for her to come home.  Hermione came down and told him that she wasn’t able to reach Rose on her phone, that maybe she was spending the night at a friend’s house.  Ron refused to go to bed; he stayed in the living room and ended up falling asleep on the couch waiting for her.  When Hermione came down in the morning, she saw Ron still asleep and knew that Rose never came home.  She sighed and picked up the phone to call her again, and again she didn’t answer.  She knew Rose was probably at Harry’s but she didn’t know if she should go there or wait for Rose to contact them. Ron started to stir and she quickly decided to floo to Harry’s before he woke.

“Harry?” said Hermione looking around at the dark house.  It didn’t appear that he was up yet so she called louder, “Harry!”

Harry was curled up in bed with Rose enjoying a nice dream when he heard someone calling him…groaning he got up out of bed, worried it might be one of his kids.  He sleepily made his way downstairs in nothing but his boxers to find Hermione in his living room.  “Is everything OK?”

She shook her head no, then said, “Rose got into a big fight with Ron last night and never came home.  We’ve been calling her but she’s not picking up.  Have you talked to her?” Hermione was clearly worried and Harry felt bad he didn’t think about this last night.

“She’s fine, Hermione.  She’s asleep upstairs right now.  I’m sorry, I should have let you guys know, but she was asleep when I got home last night and when I woke her she was so upset that I just tried to comfort her.  Do you want me to wake her?” replied Harry guiltily.

Relief washed over Hermione and she shook her head no saying, “Oh, thank Merlin. I was so worried and Ron spent the night waiting up for her, falling asleep on the coach…he’s still there.  I’ll head home and let him know she’s all right.  I’m sorry, I woke you.”

Harry felt pretty bad and replied, “I’ll have her call you when she gets up, OK?”

Hermione nodded and flooed home.  Ron was just waking up when she got there and he shot up off the couch realizing that Rose never came home, sighing, “Bloody Hell.”

Hermione smiled at him and said, “I just went to see if Harry had heard from her and he has…she spent the night at a friends house.  He said he would tell her to call us.”

Ron ran his hands over his face and through his hair, then stood up and stretched.  “Thank Merlin…I was worried sick last night.  I kept playing the whole thing over and over in my head and I feel terrible.  I don’t know why I got so upset.  She never even mentioned wanting to sleep over this guys house and I just lost it.  I don’t know I just felt like there was something she wasn’t telling me…”he said trailing off.

Hermione sighed and replied, “well, there was a lot she wasn’t telling us, like who she was dating and how old he was, so I can see why you felt that way.”

“No, it wasn’t that…It seemed more serious than that.  I don’t know how to explain it.” Replied Ron clearly frustrated.

“Ron, don’t you trust her?” asked Hermione

“Yeah, of course…it’s everyone else that I don’t trust.  She’s still so young and I worry some wizard is going to take advantage of her.” Replied Ron

Hermione sat down on the couch sighing and said; “You do remember that we survived a war at her age, don’t you?  She finished her NEWTS, Ron; she’s done with Hogwarts.  It’s normal for her to want to have a serious relationship.  It’s part of growing up.  I may be uneasy about her dating an older wizard but I trust her judgment.  I know she wouldn’t date someone who treated her badly, or took advantage of her.  We have to let her find her own way, Ron.”

Harry made his way back upstairs but he knew he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep so he sat in a chair and watched Rose sleep.  He felt horrible for letting his friends worry about her all night.  This was so much harder than he thought it was going to be.  He didn’t want to see Rose upset again like that.  She needed to talk with her parents and set some ground rules with them.  As much as Harry wanted Rose to never leave his side, he couldn’t deal with the guilt that he felt for making her parents worry.  He sighed heavily and sat down on the bed and started kissing Rose’s face, saying, “Rose, sweetheart, it’s time to get up.”

Rose groaned and rolled away from him, pulling the covers over her head.  Harry laughed at her antics and climbed in bed getting under the covers with her.

“Morning Love.” Said Harry

“Good Morning to you.” Replied Rose pulling him in for a kiss and running her hands over his chest.  He laughed as she lightly tickled him.  After a minute he pulled her in his arms so that her head was on his chest.

“Rose, you need to call home.  Hermione was here a little while ago; they were worried sick about you last night.  She said they called you but you didn’t pick up.”

“Shit!  I meant to call them and tell them I was staying at a friends house but then I fell asleep and then you came home and made me feel better.” Replied Rose getting out of bed.  She looked around for her bag and rifled through for her phone.  Finally finding it she climbed back in bed and called home…

Her Dad answered

“Hi Dad”

“Oh, Rose, thank Merlin, you’re alright.  I was so worried about you last night.” Said Ron

“I’m sorry, Dad.  I meant to call you but I was so upset that I ended up falling straight asleep.” Replied Rose

“No, Rose, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you and said those things.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  Do you forgive me?” pleaded Ron

Rose had tears streaming down her face, wiping them away, she said, “Dad, I’m not going to stop seeing this person…can you handle me dating someone while living there?”

Ron sighed and replied, “yeah, Rose.  I guess I’ll just have to get used to the fact that you’re growing up but can we set some ground rules?”

“Depends on what they are…”

“No sleeping over his house.” Replied Ron

“No.”

“What do you mean No?  You’re planning on sleeping with this bloke already?” asked Ron raising his voice

“Dad, do you really want to have this conversation?” replied Rose

Ron sighed defeated then countered, “Fine, no sleeping over his house until I’ve met him properly and you both tell me its serious.”

Rose thought for a few moments looking at Harry then said, “OK, no sleeping over until you’ve properly met him and we both tell you its serious.”

Harry nodded at her

“Good.  Also, you need to be home at a reasonable hour, 11PM.”

“What, are you joking?  I’m not coming home that early!  I’ll be home by 2AM.”

“No way!  Midnight then.”

“No, 1AM and no earlier, Dad.” Replied Rose

He was quiet for a few minutes then said, “Fine, 1AM and not a minute later!”

She smiled and Harry did as well.

“Anything else we should talk about?” asked Rose

“No babies.”

“What!” gasped Rose shocked?

“I don’t want any grandchildren until after you are married.  Do you understand me?” Said Ron fiercely

Rose gulped and Harry looked at her questioningly

Finally she replied quietly, “Ok, Dad, no babies until after I am married.”

Harry raised his eyebrows at her response

“Are you coming home today?” asked Ron

“I have to go to the dance studio this morning and I have a date tonight, but I should be home for a few hours in between.” Replied Rose

“Ok, I’ll see you later then.” Said Ron

“Yeah.  Dad?”

“Yeah, Rose?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Rose.  I’ll see you in a few hours.” Replied Ron hanging up the phone.  He turned around to find Hermione and Hugo waiting for an explanation.  “All fixed.  We set some ground rules, like she won’t be sleeping over his house until I’ve properly met him and they both tell me its serious, and she’ll be home by 1AM at night.”

“And no babies until she’s married?” asked Hermione curiously

“Yeah, No babies until she’s married.” Replied Ron smiling.

Hugo chuckled and Hermione gave Ron a hug.

“Is she coming home?” asked Hermione

“She said she had to go to the dance studio this morning and she had a date tonight but that she would be home this afternoon.” Replied Ron

“That reminds me, are you both going to be able to come with me to Rose’s audition next week, to support her?” asked Hermione

“Mom!! Do I have to?  It’s such a girl thing…can’t you ask Aunt Ginny and Lily to go with you?” whined Hugo

Ron whacked him in the back of the head and said, “You’ll go and support your sister Hugo.”

Pouting, he said, “Can I at least see if Lily, Al or James will come so I’m not bored?”

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, “yes, that’s fine.  I was going to ask them anyway.”

“I’ll do my best to make it but it will depend on what’s going on that day at work,” said Ron. 

Hermione nodded and Hugo went to the floo saying, “I’m going to Aunt Ginny’s to ask them.”

When Rose hung up the phone Harry hugged her and said, “All better?”

“Yeah.  But I told him I wouldn’t sleep over until after he’s properly met you and we tell him we’re serious.  I also told him I would be home by 1AM every night.” Replied Rose shyly.  “Are you mad?”

“Of course not Rose.  Your relationship with your parents is important.  I don’t want to get in between that, OK?”  Replied Harry genuinely

She nodded and then he asked teasingly, “So what’s this I hear about no babies?”

She giggled and said, “oh yeah, I’m not allowed to have babies until after I’m married.”

Harry grabbed her and said, “Well I guess, I’ll just have to hurry up and marry you then because I would like to make lots of babies with you.” Then he kissed her fiercely rolling her over so that he was on top of her.

She pulled away gasping for air and said, “Really?”

Harry smiled broadly and said, “oh yeah, definitely.  Unless you don’t want babies…”

Rose squealed in delight and said, “Of course I do! I don’t know how soon, but I definitely do!”

They kissed passionately for a while before Rose had to get up and get ready to go.  Harry had sent an owl in to let his secretary know he would be late so he was going to leave at the same time as Rose. 

They decided to take a nice long shower together.  Rose was quite shy about the whole thing and Harry realized it was probably her first time showering with a man.  Smiling devilishly he began lathering her body in soap, massaging her everywhere, until she could barely hold herself up.  He stood behind her and pulled her back against him.  She felt so good, she was moaning quite loudly.  He began rinsing her off and then started to kiss her neck and leave little love bites on her shoulders and neck.  He was enjoying himself immensely and when she finally begged him, “Harry, please, I need you inside me!” He was happy to oblige.  He entered her just how they were and she moaned, barely able to stay standing, grabbing Harry behind the neck to keep from falling.  He couldn’t believe how sexy she was with her arm up high behind her holding onto him and the other hand holding his tightly while he pleasured her in this new way.  He had one hand on her stomach and one on her hip guiding her back towards him as he pushed into her.  She turned her head enough so that they could kiss and he was sure he had never been as turned on as he was right now.  They continued for a long time until Rose finally cried out in release, bringing Harry with her just from the sight of her climaxing in front of him.  When they had caught their breath, Rose turned to Harry and began washing him, and then they took turns washing each other’s hair.   When they finally left the house, it was close to 10AM but Harry had never been so happy to be late in his life.  He kissed her goodbye and they agreed to meet back at his house at 5pm for their night out.


	4. A Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry learns something horrible happened to Lily...

I do not own Harry Potter.

Authors Note:  I threw a little Lily drama into the story.  Let me know what you think!

When Harry got to work he was having a hard time keeping from smiling.  He kept thinking how happy he was with Rose and how much he didn’t want to go to work.  He’d been feeling something was missing at work for a while now and wondered if maybe this was a sign that it was time to retire.  Not that he was old enough to retire but he didn’t need the money and certainly would like to travel more.  He made his way to his office and greeted Christina happily then made his way to the conference room where everyone would be working to pick the 25 trainees. 

“Good morning everyone, sorry I’m late.” Said Harry smiling

They looked up at him curiously noticing how obviously happy he was and after a few minutes of staring at him brought him up to speed on where they were.

“We’ve managed to narrow it down to 35 Harry, but now we’re stuck.  They all seem perfect and we’re not sure how to cut the remaining 10.” Said one of his coworkers.

They spent the next several hours looking at each individual applicant and Harry had to agree, they all seemed perfect…

“Maybe we should look at it differently…look at the ones whose family has a different background than the usual.  Let’s try that.  Put all the ones who have family that work for the ministry in one pile and the ones who don’t in another pile.” Said Harry

They had five applicants whose family did not currently work for the ministry, so Harry pointed to them and said, “they’re in.  Now, let’s look at this other pile and try and find something unusual.  Anyone have any ideas?”

“Is there no way we can find out if they’re witches…we don’t have a lot of witches in our ranks?” asked someone

Harry frowned and said, “no, not really.  Unless we start trying to figure out which electives are more common with witches.   Does someone want to pull the records from our current Auror witches and see if there is an elective that’s more common than others?”

Someone jumped up and went to go look into that.  “Alright, while we’re waiting for that information, why don’t we read their descriptions out loud of why they want to be an Auror.  Only unanimous votes get a spot…sound good?”

Everyone nodded and Harry grabbed the first folder in the remaining pile and started to read it…

“I would like to be an Auror so that I can ensure that another dark lord doesn’t rise…” Harry tossed the file down, “How original.  Who wants to read next?”

A coworker grabbed a file and started reading, “I want to become an Auror because when I younger my entire family was murdered….”

They all stopped and looked up and Harry said, “I vote yes on that one.”  They all agreed and the folder moved to the smaller accepted pile.

They went around the table reading aloud, getting rid of the next three until it was Harry’s turn again and he picked up the file and started reading, “I’m a muggleborn and when I was a teenager I was raped by gunpoint.  I have never felt so helpless in my life and I vowed that I would do whatever I had to make sure that I never felt that way again.  By becoming an Auror, not only will I be able to protect myself but I will also be able to protect other witches.”

“Yes…” said Harry softly and everyone nodded in agreement

They now had 7 in the yes pile.  Just then they came back in with the records of current Auror witches …”We found something.  Most of the witches that are current Aurors all took the hard classes as electives.  They took Runes and Arithmancy whereas the wizards generally took Care of Magical Creatures or Divination.” 

Harry laughed and they looked at him, “That’s what I took for electives.” He said smiling.  They chuckled and started looking through the folders for electives.

“Ok, let’s find the records that took both Runes and Arithmancy as electives.” Said Harry thinking of Hermione. 

“There are only two.” Said someone after a few minutes of searching

“Ok, they’re in.  We’re up to 9 now.  How about the records that took one of the two?” replied Harry

“Looks like we’ve got 6 that took one of those classes.”

“Good, let’s take them as well.  That gives us 15.  We need 10 more.  Let’s go back to reading their descriptions.” Said Harry sitting down listening to his coworkers read…

This went on and on for the rest of the day and at 4:00 they had gone through everyone but still only had 20…  Frustrated Harry got up and said, “Alright, that’s enough for today.  We’ve got 20 great recruits.  Tomorrow, we go back to the drawing board.  Think about what we are missing in our current Aurors and see if you can figure out how to look for that quality in the application.  Thanks everyone.”

Harry took the 20 files of accepted recruits and locked them up in his office for safe keeping, giving the rejected ones to Christina.  He signed a few things for her and then said good night and headed home. 

Harry quickly showered and changed then waited for Rose. When she arrived, she flung herself in his arms and began passionately kissing him.  After a few minutes, Harry broke away and said, “I missed you too.”

She smiled broadly and asked, “How was your day?”

“It was fine.  I feel more and more that I don’t want to be there anymore though.” Sighed Harry

“What do you want to do?” asked Rose curiously

Harry smiled and said, “Well I was thinking of retiring.  I mean it’s not like I need the money and now I have this beautiful witch that I want to spend all of my time with…”

Rose smiled shyly and replied, “besides spending time with me, what would you do?”

Harry shrugged and said, “I don’t really know.”

Rose hugged him and gave him a kiss in response, then said, “Whatever makes you happy Harry.”

He smiled and kissed her again for several minutes but when things started to heat up he pulled away and said, “Sorry love, we have plans, we’ll have to pick this up again later.”

Pouting Rose pulled away and asked, “Where are we going, you’re all dressed up again?”

“We, my dear, are going to dinner and then to the Symphony.” Replied Harry

Rose squealed in delight and said, “It’s a good thing you bought me that dress, I’ll go put it on now.”

Harry grabbed Rose’s hand as she was walking towards the stairs, and said, “I have a surprise for you first.”

She smiled at him in response and he pulled her up the stairs to the door of her new closet.  He paused before opening it, slightly nervous.

Rose sensed this and said, “What is it sweetie?”

Harry sighed and said, “I’m just so happy with you Rose, that I made all these plans for us.  I realized after I bought the tickets to everything that you would need something to wear to it all…so I bought you some things.”

Rose smiled at him and replied, “Oh, Harry, you didn’t have to do that.  I could have bought what I needed if you told me where we were going.”

“I know…I just wanted to do something for you.  To show you how happy I am with you.  I also wanted to spoil you a little.” Replied Harry grinning.

Rose kissed him and said, “Thank you, Harry.  I’m sure I’m going to love what you’ve picked out.”

He nodded and opened the door for her, bringing her into the room.

She gasped when she entered the room and looked around, and then said, “Harry, I didn’t realize Lily had such an unbelievable closet!  Why on earth does she ever leave this room?”

Harry chuckled a little and said, “It’s not Lily’s closet Rose.”

Rose frowned a little at that and said, “Oh, yeah of course, Aunt Ginny.  I forgot.  Anyway, Harry why don’t you show me what it is you’ve gotten me to wear so that we can get going.”

Harry frowned at her response and replied, “No, Rose sweetheart, you don’t understand.  This closet wasn’t here last week…it’s not Ginny’s either.  It’s yours.  I built it for you.”

She was completely silent for several minutes and Harry was worried she wasn’t happy with it so he asked concerned, “Do you not like it?”

She looked at him incredulously and said, “Like it?  Are you mental?  I love it…but it’s too much, Harry.”

He smiled broadly and shook his head, “No, it’s not.  I am completely head over heels… in love with you Rose.”

She squealed in delight and tackled him with kisses, then asked hesitantly, ”You really think you’re in love with me?”

He laughed and said, “I don’t think I am Rose, I know I am.  I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before.”

They kissed for several minutes and Rose pulled away and whispered, “I think I’m in love with you as well.”

Harry kissed her passionately and before he knew it they were on the couch that he was happy he had placed in her closet.  They quickly christened Rose’s new closet.  When they were finished, Harry said, “come now, love, we should get going before we’re late for the symphony.”

She giggled and said, “I can’t believe you did this for me, Harry.  What would you like me to wear?”

“Perhaps you could show me how you look in some of these outfits and then I’ll tell you what I like the best.” Suggested Harry smirking.

She laughed and got up to look at everything, leaving Harry on the couch watching her.  She opened some of the drawers and saw lingerie, and raised her eyebrows at Harry, asking, “Did you pick all of this out yourself?”

He smiled and said, “I may have had some help.”

“Well, you’ll have to thank whoever helped you, I love this lingerie.” Replied Rose.

“Mmmm…I think I love it as well.” Said Harry looking Rose over in a nice black lace set.

“Now, now, Mr. Potter, I believe we have someplace to go.  No time to get distracted.” Replied Rose

“Just a few minutes…” said Harry coming up behind her kissing her shoulders and running his hands up her thighs.

She moaned at his touch but pulled away and picked a dress quickly and put it on saying, “How’s this?”

Harry frowned and said, “I like you better without a dress on.”

She laughed and grabbed a pair of shoes to wear then went to the mirror and fixed her hair.  She turned back to him and said, “Are you going to get dressed as well, or do you plan on going out naked?”

He mumbled something and got himself dressed again finishing quickly, “Ready?”

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss, then said, “Thank you, Harry, for all of this.  It really is too much but I love it.”

“It’s not too much, I want to spoil you.” Replied Harry genuinely.

“Well, I think you’ve succeeded in that.  Now, seriously does this look alright?” asked Rose

Harry smiled and looked at her…she had a simple long black dress on.  It had spaghetti straps and a very high slit going up one of the legs, but it was quite elegant.  She had black shoes on with a touch of silver sparkling on them.  “You look beautiful Rose, as always.” Replied Harry sincerely.

She kissed his lips quickly and said, “Thank you.”

They left the house and had an enjoyable dinner, even if it was a little rushed since they had used up some of their time christening the new closet.  The symphony was nice as well.  It wasn’t really Harry’s thing but he could tell Rose really enjoyed it, and once again she was trying to undress Harry in the car on the way home.

They made it inside and Harry was teasing her by moving just out of her reach every time she came close to him.

“Harry!” whined Rose

“What?  You’re insatiable, you know that, don’t you?” asked Harry ducking into the kitchen just out of her reach.

She laughed and said, “I’m going to get you Potter!” running after him

He laughed and said, “oh yeah, give it your best shot, love.”

She was chasing him around the house and every time she got close enough to touch him he would quickly move away.

This had been going on for 10 minutes when the floo activated but they were so busy laughing that neither noticed until they heard someone calling, “Dad?  Dad, are you here?”

They both stopped in their tracks until they heard it again and Harry said, “it’s OK, its just Al.” and they both walked out into the living room to see him.

“Hey Al, what’s going on?” asked Harry.  He was clutching his side and breathing heavily.  He had taken off his jacket and tie and had his shirt halfway unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up.  Al looked to Rose quickly to see that she was all dressed up.  He nodded to her and said, “I don’t know what’s going on but Mom asked me to come get you.  She said it was important.”

Harry frowned and said, “OK.  Rose, I’m sorry, do you want to wait for me, or just head home?”

She looked at the time and it was already 11pm so she said, “It’s fine Harry.  Why don’t I go home … I’m sure my dad is waiting for me and maybe this will help ease his fears a little if I come home early.”

Harry looked torn between wanting her to stay and making his friends feel better, finally, he said, “Sure.  I’ll see you tomorrow night, same time?  We can do something casual…How’s that sound?”

She kissed him quickly and said, “that sounds perfect.” Then she whispered, “I love you.” In his ear and nodded towards Al as she left through the floo to go home.

Harry was grinning like a maniac after Rose said that but he quickly turned to Al and said, “Ok, let’s go.”

When they entered the house, Al called out, “Mom, we’re back.”

“We’re in the kitchen!” yelled Ginny

They walked in to see Lily sitting at the table with her legs drawn up towards her chest and her arms wrapped around them.  Her face was all red and puffy and it looked like she had been crying.

“What’s wrong?” asked Harry

“Al, can you go get James and bring him down here now.” Said Ginny cutting Lily off from replying

Al frowned but went to go get James.  A minute later they were in the kitchen and Ginny motioned for them to all sit.

“Mom, please…” pleaded Lily

“No, Lily.” Replied Ginny sternly

“But why do Al and James have to know!  Al is friends with Scorpius, Mom!” pleaded Lily again

Ginny sighed and said, “Al, this stays between us, nothing gets repeated to Scorpius, do you understand?”

Al looked questioningly towards Lily then nodded hesitantly

Ginny sensed his hesitation and said, “Al, your sister comes before your friends.  Family is more important.  Agreed?”

Al nodded

“What’s going on?” asked Harry getting annoyed.  His good mood was quickly vanishing.

In response Ginny handed Harry a piece of paper simply saying, “Lily would like us to sign this for her, since she’s underage.”

Harry was thoroughly confused and looked down at the paper, not really understanding what was going on.  He saw on the bottom it had signature lines…one for the patient and two for the parents.  Still confused as to why he needed to come here to sign some form he looked at the top to see what it was for and gasped loudly, dropping the paper from his hands.  Lily started to cry and he looked up at her questioningly.

“Daddy…I’m…sorry,” gasped Lily through her sobs.

Al not having a clue what was going on, picked up the paper and read the top line then yelled, “Lily!”

When she didn’t say anything, he got angry.  “How can you do this?  Scorpius doesn’t know, does he?  That’s why you didn’t want me here!  Isn’t it?” yelled Al

James had read the form now as well and was frowning but remained silent.

“Al, enough.  I told you, you’re sister is more important than you’re friends.  Now sit down.” Said Ginny fiercely

“Have you told Scorpius?” asked Harry quietly

Lily shook her head No

Harry sighed and said, “you need to tell him, Lily.”

Again, Lily shook her head No.

Harry stood up, he was quite angry.  “Tell me what’s going on Lily.  You want me to sign this form without any explanation whatsoever.  You haven’t even told Scorpius.  You need to be responsible for your actions Lily!” finished Harry yelling

Lily started sobbing again and they all remained quiet for a few minutes before she finally spoke.  “It’s my choice.  I don’t need to tell Scor anything.  If you don’t want to sign the form, then fine.  I’ll figure it out.”

Harry was bullshit, “What the hell does that mean?  You’ll figure it out!”

Lily got up, she was angry now too, “It means its my damn choice and I don’t have to tell anyone unless I want to!” screamed Lily then she continued, “I didn’t even want you to know but Mum insisted it was a family matter!  Well, a lot of bloody good that’s done me!”

“Lily, stop it.  I just want to make sure you know what your doing.  What you’re asking for, have you really thought it through?” said Ginny earnestly

“I don’t have any other choice.” Said Lily quietly

“Of course you do!” replied Harry

“You don’t understand!” screamed Lily

“You’re damn right I don’t!  You’ve just asked me to sign an authorization for an abortion!  I don’t bloody understand any of this!” yelled Harry banging his hand on the table, and then he continued to yell, “Like why you insist Scorpius doesn’t need to know!  Why you’ve said you don’t have any other choice!  And why in Merlin’s name you’re pregnant at 16!”

Al and James gaped at their father; they had never seen him this angry.  Lily was crying again and Ginny stood up and pulled Harry away from her saying, “Harry, please you’re not helping anything by yelling at her.”

He sighed and sat down again trying to pull himself together again.  They sat like this for quite a while until it seemed both Harry and Lily had composed themselves again.

Lily started to speak quietly, “Its…its not…” she sighed unable to finish.

“Its not what, Lily?” asked Ginny

“Its not his.” She replied very quietly

They all seemed to frown not understanding what she was talking about for a minute then Al jumped up and said, “Are you fucking kidding?  What do you mean it’s not his?”

Harry and James were looking at Lily in complete shock and Al was furious.  Ginny seemed to be the only one that was able to handle this revelation so she cut in, “Who’s baby is it then, Lily.”

Lily shook her head furiously and said, “I’m not telling you.  I can’t tell you!” She was crying in earnest now and Ginny was quite concerned.

“Let me get this straight, Lily,” said Al fiercely before continuing, “you are currently dating my best friend and have been for over 6 months.  But somehow you’ve managed to not only cheat on him but you’ve gotten yourself pregnant with someone else’s child!”

Lily wiped some tears away and looked at him defiantly nodding yes.

“Are you a complete slag?” yelled Al

“Albus!  How dare you!  Apologize to your sister right now!” screamed Ginny

Al grumbled an apology under his breath and sat down. 

James finally spoke up and said, “I don’t understand Lily.  I thought you loved Scorpius? I thought you were happy with him.  I’ve never seen you with anyone else…it just doesn’t make any sense.”

Lily started crying again and said, “I do love Scorpius, I swear I do.  I’m so happy with him.  It was just a horrible mistake and I just want it to be behind me!”

Al snorted and said, “that’s a pretty big mistake Lily.”

“Enough Al.” said Harry fiercely, then he continued in a more controlled tone, “Look, Lily I get that you’re young, that you don’t want to have a baby but you need to tell us who’s baby this is.”

“No!” yelled Lily sobbing

“Damn it Lily!  I want to know whose choice I’m taking away by signing this form!” yelled Harry

Lily kept shaking her head no and finally Ginny spoke up saying, “Lily, you have to take responsibility for your actions.  You got yourself into this mess.  You’re asking us to help you, but you have to talk to us.”

“I can’t.” replied Lily

Harry sighed heavily, “Why can’t you tell us Lily.  Are you worried we won’t approve?  Because honestly, it’s a little late for that now.” 

“No, it’s not that.  It’s just that he’s involved with someone else and …” Lily trailed off

“Well, you’re involved with someone else as well.  It’s not a great situation, Lily but he deserves to know.” Replied Harry

Lily seemed to get very angry with that and screamed, “HE DOES NOT DESERVE TO KNOW ANYTHING!”

Taken aback Harry just stared at her.  Ginny seemed to figure something out though and said, “Lily… is there something you’re not telling us?”

“You mean besides whose baby it is!” snapped Al

Lily was crying again and she was shaking her head and had wrapped herself up again with her knees pulled to her chest.

“OK, Lily.  I can tell something’s bothering you but let’s start small.  How do you know it’s not Scorpius’ baby?” asked Ginny quietly

“Because I…I never…” she trailed off crying.

“You’ve never had sex with Scorpius?” asked Ginny

She shook her head no and said, “I told him I wanted to wait, that I wasn’t ready yet.” She was sobbing again.

“But you were ready to have sex with someone else?” asked Al confused

Again she shook her head no and Ginny grabbed Harry’s arm tightly while Lily sobbed.  He tensed up and immediately his Auror senses were kicking in.

“Lily?” said Harry

“I don’t want to talk about it!” yelled Lily

“What am I missing?” said Al sensing something had changed

“Lily, tell me what happened.” Said Harry gently

“No…”

“Fine, let me tell you what it sounds like to me then.  It sounds like someone forced you to have sex.” Said Harry fiercely

“What!” jumped up James yelling? “Someone forced themselves on you?  I’ll fucking kill them!  Who was it?”

“No, No!  It was just a big misunderstanding.  That’s all it was!  He didn’t hear me, he didn’t!” said Lily pleading.

“Did you say No?” asked Harry

“Yes, but…” pleaded Lily

“But nothing!” yelled Al angrily  “Who was it?”

“I can’t tell you!” screamed Lily

“Please Lily, you need to tell us who did this to you.” Pleaded Harry

When this did nothing but make Lily cry harder Ginny motioned for all of them to sit again and gave Lily a few minutes to compose herself.  “Lily, are you scared of this person?  That he will do something to you if you talk about what happened.”

“No!  You don’t understand…  It was just a misunderstanding!  He didn’t rape me, he didn’t!” pleaded Lily

“Lily, why are you trying to protect him?  Why are you insisting it was a misunderstanding?  I’ve never had a misunderstanding with a girl over sex.  It’s very clear, you either want to have sex or you don’t,” asked James.

“I’m not trying to protect him…it’s complicated.” Replied Lily quietly

“Obviously,” snorted Al.

“Lily, why don’t you tell us what happened that makes you think it was a misunderstanding.” Said Ginny softly

“We were at a party and I drank too much…but I wasn’t worried because I trusted him and everyone else that was there.  Anyway, it was late and I suddenly found myself alone with him and he started saying all these things to me and then he kissed me.  I was horrified because well let’s just say I don’t see him that way.  Anyway, I kept telling him that over and over but he was a little drunk too and he wasn’t really listening to me.  He thought I was just protesting because of who he was and not that I didn’t really want to.  He kept telling me to forget about what everyone would say and do what I wanted to,” said Lily quietly.

 They were all quiet for a minute absorbing what Lily said when James asked, “What party was it?”

Lily hesitated before she replied, “Uncle George’s birthday party.”

They frowned thinking about who was at the party and Al asked, “Lily, I don’t understand, wasn’t it just family?”

She sniffled and wiped some tears from her face then nodded making Ginny gasp and Harry push himself away from the table with his hand over his mouth, looking like he wanted to vomit.

“Tell me who it was, Lily, please.” Pleaded Ginny

“I…can’t.” sobbed Lily

“Why can’t you?” asked Ginny

“I just can’t! If I say it out loud, it doesn’t just affect me it affects everyone and Dad’s relationship with him!  I can’t do that to you Daddy, I can’t!” sobbed Lily

“Lily, please, listen to me, I don’t care about anything right now other than you.  I want to know who did this to you.” Said Harry sincerely

“It wasn’t rape, you have to know that, please tell me you believe me!” pleaded Lily

When they all just stared at her she continued, “not everything is black and white, this is grey!  Please, it has to be a misunderstanding!  I can’t live with it otherwise, I can’t!” said Lily hysterical.

Harry got up and knelt down in front of her, pulling her hands in his and said, “Lily, please, you have to talk to me.  I don’t understand.  It sounds like you said No to me.  It sounds like someone in our family forced themselves on you.  It sounds like rape to me.”

“I had too much to drink.  He took advantage of me.  He took advantage of the fact that I trusted him.  He misunderstood me and thought that I was saying no because of what others would say.  He didn’t hurt me; he didn’t do anything other than what he thought I wanted.  It wasn’t rape…it can’t be rape,” replied Lily pleadingly

Harry sighed and Ginny said, “for now let’s just agree to disagree, Lily.  I would like to know who we are talking about…let’s just narrow it down.  Was it one of my brothers?”

Lily shook her head no.

“Was it one of your cousins?”

Again, Lily shook her head no.

“That doesn’t leave many people besides us.  Was it someone in this room?” Harry, Al and James looked incredulously at Ginny but she just waved them off waiting for Lily’s answer

She shook her head no again.

Al had grabbed a piece of paper and was writing down all the men that were at the party, then crossing off those Lily said no to.  There were only two names left on the list and he passed it to his dad.  Ginny looked over at the list and asked, “Was it my Dad?”

Lily not realizing they had done this because she had her eyes closed the whole time shook her head no.

Harry stood up so quickly that his chair clattered to the floor noisily, startling Lily and making her open her eyes.  She looked up to see her father looking betrayed and angry and hurt all at once and she knew he figured it out.  She started crying again and Ginny went over and held her telling her it would be OK.

James hadn’t seen the names on the list and got up to grab it to see whom they were talking about.  As soon as he saw it he swore, “Bloody Hell!  He’s like our brother!”

“Yes, I imagine that’s why Lily trusted him.” Said Al fiercely.

Harry suddenly felt sick and ran to the barrel and vomited.  After several minutes he sat back down.  He was devastated and began quietly talking, it appeared to himself, the more they listened. “I don’t understand…he’s like a son…what did I do wrong…how did this happen…why would he do this…” He was shaking his head often as if trying to make this go away and there were tears streaming down his face.

Lily got up and went over and kneeled in front of him and pleaded, “Daddy, please, it was just a misunderstanding.  Please.”

Harry looked down to see his daughter in tears and realized that it didn’t matter that Harry felt betrayed.  This was his daughter and he didn’t care how much he loved this person, he was going to make him pay.  He stood suddenly and started walking to the floo…

“Harry, where are you going?” asked Ginny confused.

But Lily seemed to know and she started sobbing, “No, Daddy, Please!  Please, don’t!”

Harry yelled “Lupin House” and was gone before Lily fell to the floor sobbing.  Ginny sat down and wrapped her arms around Lily, letting her cry.  Al and James sat down on the couch completely shocked into silence.

 “Teddy!”  Yelled Harry as he made it out of the floo, “Teddy!”  The house was dark as if either he wasn’t home or he was asleep.  Harry moved around the familiar place looking for Teddy…he found him sitting at the table in the kitchen with several empty bottles of liquor nearby. 

“I wondered how long it would take you to find out.” Said Teddy quietly while still drinking in the dark.

Harry couldn’t find any words to express what he was feeling, so he grabbed Teddy by the collar and shoved him up against the kitchen wall.  Several things clattered to the floor in the process.

“HOW COULD YOU!” growled Harry fiercely inches away from Teddy’s face.  He then threw several punches at Teddy making him fall to the ground. Harry then did something he didn’t think he would ever do again…”CRUCIO!”

Teddy screamed in agony for several minutes while Harry held the curse.  While this was happening they didn’t realize that Al and James had come through and were watching in shock what was happening.

When Harry finally released the spell, he grabbed Teddy roughly from the floor and threw him against the wall, screaming, “SHE TRUSTED YOU!  HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER?  SHE THINKS OF YOU AS A BROTHER, FOR MERLIN’S SAKE!  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”

To Harry’s horror, Teddy started to cry and yelled back, “I DON’T KNOW!”  He pushed Harry a little and then started ranting, “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW WHAT I DID?  I CAN’T SLEEP WITHOUT HAVING NIGHTMARES ABOUT IT!  I CAN’T THINK BECAUSE I KEEP HEARING LILY BEGGING ME …  NO MATTER HOW MUCH I DRINK IT WON’T GO AWAY!”

“CRUCIO!” screamed Harry again holding the curse while he continued to yell at Teddy.  “YOU WERE LIKE A SON TO ME AND YOU RAPED MY DAUGHTER!  I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU TEDDY NEVER!”

Suddenly Lily was screaming at him “DADDY STOP!!! PLEASE!” and had stepped in front of Teddy making Harry stop the spell. 

“Lily?  He deserves a lot worse than this for what he did to you.” Said Harry fiercely

Lily was sobbing still standing in front of Teddy who had curled up in a ball on the floor.  “Daddy, please…”

Harry turned to see his whole family in the room.  Ginny looked petrified and decided she needed to get help and left through the floo to get Ron and Hermione. 

Al and James were staring at their father in shock.  He looked at the boys and said, “get your sister out of here.”

They nodded and tried to pull her away but she was hysterical and kept screaming, “DADDY, PLEASE, IT’S TEDDY!  PLEASE!  IT’S TEDDY!”

“CRUCIO!” screamed Harry again holding the curse while Lily continued to scream.

Ron, Hermione, Rose, Hugo, and Ginny all arrived while Harry was still torturing Teddy.  Hermione immediately went to Harry and he suddenly felt someone touch his arm, this surprised him enough that he stopped the curse.

“Harry…” whispered Hermione

He shook his head and said, “No, Mione.  I’m not walking away.  You need to go.”

“Harry, please, I don’t know what’s going on but you’ve never used that curse!  And on Teddy!  For Merlin’s sake Harry, he’s your Godson!  Please stop this.” Begged Hermione

“You’re wrong Hermione.  I have used this curse before.  I used it on Bellatrix in fifth year after she killed Sirius.  Now, leave me alone.  This has nothing to do with you.” Said Harry coldly

She gasped at his response but tried again, “Harry, Bellatrix tortured Neville’s parents.  She killed Sirius.  She tortured me.  We were at war, Harry.  Surely, Remus and Tonks son doesn’t deserve the same treatment!”

“TELL THEM TEDDY!  TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID TO MY DAUGHTER!” screamed Harry and when Teddy wasn’t quick enough in his reply Harry said, “CRUCIO!” again.

 “Mate, what’s going on?” asked Ron tentatively

Lily was still frantically trying to get free from her brothers and she was screaming hysterically the whole time.  Finally she broke free and ran to Teddy’s side, making Harry stop the spell again.  She was crying and kept saying “Daddy, please, its Teddy!  Daddy, please, you have to remember this is Teddy!”

“HE RAPED YOU!” screamed Harry making Hermione, Ron, Rose and Hugo gasp loudly.

“NO!  IT WASN’T RAPE!  IT WASN’T!” Screamed Lily, then she gasped suddenly and doubled over in pain.

“Lily!” yelled Ginny coming to her side trying to pull her back.

“No, get away from me!  I’m not going anywhere until Daddy stops this!” yelled Lily still doubled over.

“Lily, sweetie, what’s wrong,” asked Hermione desperately?

Suddenly Teddy spoke up and said, “Lily, please, I can’t get it out of my head.  I’m so sorry.  I didn’t realize what I was doing until it was too late!”  Teddy started sobbing into his hands. 

“NO!  Don’t you dare, Teddy!  I DECIDE!  NOT YOU, NOT MY FATHER, NOBODY BUT ME GETS TO DECIDE!  DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” SCREAMED LILY.  At this point she was in serious pain and could barely stand upright.  She had one hand against the wall and the other across her stomach.  She was breathing heavily and crying.

Harry watched in awe. He looked around and realized Teddy’s house was a mess, it didn’t look like he had cleaned it in weeks and there were empty liquor bottles everywhere.  It was obvious Teddy was feeling a lot of guilt over what happened.  Harry sighed not knowing what to do, but his anger had dissipated enough that he put his wand away.  He suddenly felt someone reach for his hand and he turned to see Rose there.  He squeezed her hand in response and then let go moving towards Lily.  “Lily, I put my wand away.  Let’s just get you home, OK, sweetie?”

She nodded and tried to move but groaned in pain instead.  She fell to the floor on her knees and started crying.  “Lily, what hurts?” asked Harry but then Ginny and Hermione gasped and he looked at them then back at Lily to see a large amount of blood pooling at her feet.  Lily seemed to notice it at the same time because she started crying harder and said, “Daddy?” 

Harry quickly went to her and Ginny came over and said, “We need to get her home.”

Harry nodded and picked up his daughter and quickly went to the floo.  When they got home, Lily asked to be brought to the bathroom and then shut the door on him.  They sat outside the bathroom for a while, listening to Lily cry.  She refused to open the door and finally Ginny sent an owl to the healer to see if she could come check on Lily.  After a while, the healer came and Lily agreed to let her in along with her mother.  Everyone else went to wait in the living room and Al and James tried to fill them in on what happened. Harry was quiet the whole time, feeling guilty for what he did to Teddy but at the same time furious that he didn’t get to hurt him more.  What kind of a person was he to think these things?  Rose sat quietly next to him on the couch and just tried to be there in case he needed anything.

Finally, the healer left and Ginny asked Rose if she would go sit with Lily while she filled everyone in on what was going on. After Rose left, she turned to the group and told them what happened…

“She had a miscarriage.” Sighed Ginny

“Is she alright?” asked Harry concerned

“No, not really.  The healer gave her a calming draught and some pain potions that she needs to take for the next few days.  She said that she won’t feel well for about a week and that Lily will probably feel guilty about losing the baby.   Since she was going to have an abortion, she’ll feel like she’s being punished.” Replied Ginny

“Oh, the poor thing.” Sobbed Hermione burying her head in Ron’s shoulder

“She’ll be OK though, right?” asked James

“Physically, yeah, the healer didn’t think there would be any permanent damage.” Said Ginny

“Can we go see her?” asked Al

“Wait, we need to talk about what happened with Teddy and come to a decision before anyone goes to see her.” Said Ginny stepping in the doorway to prevent anyone from getting out.

“What is there to talk about Gin?  He raped her,” replied Harry.

“Look, Harry, I don’t disagree with you, but Lily doesn’t think he did and she doesn’t need us harassing her about it all the time.  Can we just agree to let Lily bring the topic up if she wants to talk about it?” asked Ginny

“What?  And just let him get away with it!” yelled Harry

“Harry, what are you going to do, have him arrested because you said so?  She’s denying it was rape and you know that without her there’s nothing that can be done!” yelled back Ginny

Harry turned around and punched a wall in frustration making Ginny jump back away from him.  She had never seen him so furious.

Al and James were certainly getting to see a darker side of their Dad tonight.

“Harry.” Called Rose from the doorway

He turned to look at her and saw the concern in her eyes.  Then she continued quietly, “Lily is asking for you.”

He nodded and made his way towards the doorway but paused before leaving the room and said, “Fine, Ginny, I won’t bring it up, for now.  But this isn’t over.”

“Thank you, Harry.” Said Ginny as he left the room.

“Blimey, I haven’t seen him that angry since we were in school.” Said Ron

Hermione nodded but Ginny said, “I’ve never seen him that angry before.”

Hermione frowned and replied, “Gin, he was like that virtually everyday from fourth year on.”

“Maybe, but I wasn’t that close with him until sixth year and he wasn’t angry when we were together.  Then we didn’t get back together until after the war was over so I never really saw him like this.” Replied Ginny

“I can’t believe he used an unforgiveable…on Teddy.” Said James quietly

Hermione walked over to James and knelt down in front of him, then pleaded her case for Harry.  “Oh, James, you have to understand that there’s nothing more important to your father than protecting his family.  He grew up without anyone to love him and then the few people he did have; Sirius, Dumbledore, Remus, they were all killed.  He’s never wanted anything more than a family and I don’t think there’s anything your father wouldn’t do for the three of you.” Replied Hermione sincerely then she added, “But if I know Harry, I’m sure he’s feeling quite guilty over using that curse on Teddy.”

“Do you think he really used that curse before?” asked Al

They all seemed to think about it for a few minutes before Ron replied, “Yeah, I bet he did.  He said he used it on Bellatrix the night Sirius died.  I still remember that night very clearly.  I remember seeing her kill Sirius and hearing Harry’s anguished screams while Remus held him back.  He was so furious that he finally broke free of Remus and chased Bellatrix out of the room.  The order wouldn’t let any of us go after him, then the whole place was shaking and they were screaming that Voldemort was there.  By the time we got to Harry, the atrium of the ministry was completely destroyed and Harry was in rough shape. He’s never really talked about what happened that night before, at least not to me.”

“He never talked about the war much with me.” Said Ginny sadly

They all looked to Hermione and she squirmed a little under their gazes, “I’ve heard some of what happened that night, but he wasn’t conscious, so I thought he was just delirious.”

“When was this?” asked Ron

“When he was attacked by Nagini in Godric’s Hollow.  He was screaming all night about all sorts of things. He was screaming at Bellatrix in his sleep, and he kept shouting Crucio over and over.  I didn’t realize at the time but he must have been reliving all those horrible memories.” Replied Hermione quietly

“Weren’t you there too Uncle Ron?” asked Al

Ron shook his head no then said, “No, I wasn’t as strong as your father and Hermione.  I left them for a while during the Horcrux hunt.”

“What, are you serious?” asked Ginny astounded

When he didn’t reply she asked, “Why didn’t anyone ever mention this before?  Why did you leave?  Where did you go?  How long were you gone?  You left Harry and Hermione alone together?” rattled off Ginny barely stopping to breathe.

Hermione spoke up, “Gin, it’s all in the past now.  Ron came back and that’s all that mattered to Harry and I.”

Ginny didn’t look like she was going to drop it but Rose came back in to the room and said, “Mum, Lily is asking for you.”

Hermione nodded and went to make her way to see Lily when Rose said, “I told her I would spend the night with her so she wouldn’t be alone, so I’m just going to run home and grab some things to change into and I’ll be right back.”

“Sure.” Replied Hermione

When they both had left everyone was silent for a minute before Al spoke up saying, “Dad was pretty scary tonight, I guess now I see why he’s considered one of the most powerful wizards.” Then he asked, “He’s not going to get in trouble for using an unforgivable, is he?”

“Only if Teddy reports it and I don’t think that’s going to happen.  They would ask what they were fighting about and then Teddy would have to admit what he did to Lily.” Replied James

Just then Harry came in and said, “Gin, do you mind if I sleep on your couch tonight?

“No, of course not Harry but you can sleep in the guest room.  You don’t need to sleep on the couch.” Replied Ginny

“I’d rather be close to Lily’s room and the living room is closer to her than the guest room.  I’m just going to head home and grab a few things but I’ll be right back” Said Harry then he left through the floo.

“You know, Gin, do you mind if Hermione and I use your guest room tonight?  She’s not going to want to leave and I’d rather be close in case you need anything.” Said Ron

“Sure, no problem.  You know where it is.” Replied Ginny

Hermione came in and asked, “Where’s Harry?”

“He went home to get some things, he’s going to stay here tonight.” Replied Al

“Ok, good.  Lily asked me to go check on Teddy, so I’m going to do that now while he’s gone.  I’ll be right back.” Said Hermione quickly and she was gone before any of them could reply

“Boys, why don’t you make the couch up for your father, so that he can lie down when he gets back.” Said Ginny going to get some blankets for them.

After they were done doing that Ginny said, “Ok, now will you get the camp bed and put it in one of your rooms for Hugo.”

“No, it’s ok, he can sleep in my bed, I was going to stay out here with Dad.” Replied Al

“Actually, I wanted to stay out here with Dad as well.” Said James

“Yeah, I’d rather stay closer to Lily too.” Replied Hugo

“Fine.” Huffed Ginny then she did a few charms so that there was sleeping space for all of them in the living room.

Rose came back first, and then shortly after her Hermione came back and finally Harry came back.   Rose was going to sleep in Lily’s room and Hermione went to speak with Lily briefly before heading to bed in the guest room.  Harry checked on Lily then tried to go to sleep.  He was surprised that his boys wanted to spend the night in the living room with him but he knew they felt just as protective of her as he did.

Ginny turned off the lights and everyone tried to get some sleep.  It was already the middle of the night so hopefully they would get to sleep late.  Unfortunately, they weren’t so lucky.  Lily was up several times throughout the night crying in pain and needed to take some potions.  She was finally settled back down when the sun was coming up and they all tiredly fell back to sleep.  Sooner than they would have liked they were woken up by someone arriving through the Floo….

“Lily?” called Scorpius before he realized there were four people sleeping in the living room.

Al rolled over and groaned then asked, “Scorpius, What are you doing here?”

“Lily was supposed to come over a half hour ago to head to a Quidditch game with me and my parents.  Where is she?” asked Scorpius

Harry sat up and ran his hands through his hair before replying, “Scorpius I don’t think Lily will be going out today.  She’s not feeling well.”

“What’s wrong with her?  And why are you all sleeping in the living room?” asked Scorpius confused

“Let me go see if she’s awake.  If she is I’ll let her know you’re here.” Said Harry avoiding answering the question.  Then he got up and left the room.

Scorpius looked to Al and said, “What’s going on?”

Just then Hermione and Ron came down the stairs and said “Good Morning” to everyone.  This confused Scorpius more but Harry came back and said, “Lily said to go on in.”

He nodded and went towards Lily’s room and passed Rose on his way as she was leaving Lily’s room.  He went in and closed the door behind him.  He looked around and saw Lily lying down in bed.  She looked pale and he rushed to her side, sitting down on the bed next to her and said, “Lily, what’s going on, are you OK?”

She smiled somewhat and pushed herself up a little, groaning in the process. “Yeah, I’m OK, but I really don’t want to talk about what happened.”

Scorpius frowned but replied, “Sure, if you don’t want to, but what can I do to help?”

“Would you stay with me today?  I won’t be great company but it would be really nice if you just hung out with me.  Maybe we could watch some movies?” asked Lily shyly

“You got it.  Let me just tell my Dad and I’ll be right back.” Replied Scorpius, then he kissed her quickly and left the room.

Harry was waiting for Scorpius to leave and as soon as he did, Harry went to go talk with her.  He needed to go to work for a little while but wanted to make sure she was OK with that.

In the meantime, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were arguing in the kitchen and they were unaware that they had gained the attention of Rose, Hugo, Al, and James, who were listening by the doorway. 

“I just can’t believe you never mentioned that you left them, Ron!  That Harry was alone with Hermione for all that time!” yelled Ginny

“What’s that supposed to mean?” yelled Hermione

“What do you think it means!” yelled back Ginny

Hermione laughed cruelly and yelled, “You’ve got to be kidding me Ginny!”

“It makes perfect sense!  He’s always put you ahead of me; he’s always taken your side!  You’re the reason we’re not together anymore!” screamed Ginny

“HOW DARE YOU!” screamed Hermione lunging at Ginny but Ron through himself in between them and said, “Ginny, stop it, you’re being ridiculous!  Nothing happened between Harry and Hermione!”

“HOW DO YOU KNOW?  You just said you left them alone for weeks!” screeched Ginny

“YOU FUCKING BITCH GINNY!  DO YOU THINK THAT THE REASON WE TOOK SO LONG TO FINISH VOLDEMORT WAS BECAUSE HARRY AND I WERE TOO BUSY SHAGGING!  AND WHAT HAPPENED WHEN RON CAME BACK, DID WE JUST HAVE A BIG ORGI?” Screamed Hermione

When Ginny just looked shocked at her she continued ranting…

“YOU HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT WE WENT THROUGH THAT YEAR!  DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WHEN RON WAS GONE? DO YOU?  NO? WELL, LET ME JUST TELL YOU THEN!  WE CONTINUED TO NEARLY STARVE TO DEATH AND FREEZE TO DEATH.  HARRY SPENT WEEKS TRYING TO GET ME TO STOP CRYING AND THEN WHEN I FINALLY DID AND WE WENT TO GODRIC’S HALLOW TO VISIT HARRY’S PARENTS GRAVES WE WERE NEARLY KILLED BY VOLDEMORT!  HARRY WAS ATTACKED BY NAGINI AND NEARLY DIED!  IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH, I MANAGED TO BREAK HIS WAND!  HIS WAND GINNY!  HOW THE FUCK WERE WE SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT THE DARKEST WIZARD OF ALL TIME WITH ONLY ONE WAND, NEARLY STARVED TO DEATH WITH ONLY THE TWO US!  THEN HARRY NEARLY DROWNED TRYING TO GET THE SWORD OF GRYFFINDOR!”

Hermione took some deep breaths and then continued in a much more controlled tone but she was very scary and Ginny took several steps back from her

“I must have forgotten all the good times we had shagging everywhere while Ron was gone.  You and Harry aren’t together anymore because you never loved him.  You only loved being Harry Potter’s wife and the fame and wealth that came with it.  Don’t you dare blame me for your failure as a wife.  You can’t fathom the bond that I have with Harry because you weren’t there Ginny.  You weren’t dragged into the forest by snatchers who wanted to rape you.  You weren’t tortured nearly to death by death eaters.  And most importantly you didn’t take care of Harry the whole year while he fought with the world on his shoulders while even his best mate betrayed him.”

“What’s going on?” asked Harry stepping in past all the kids

“Ginny and I are just clearing the air.” Replied Hermione stiffly

Harry looked to Ginny to see that she looked quite scared of Hermione and he looked questioningly to Ron who looked down guiltily.

“What exactly needed clearing?” asked Harry annoyed?

“I’ll let you ex-wife tell you.  I’m going home.  Call me if Lily needs anything.” Snapped Hermione then she turned to leave.

Ginny was bullshit that Hermione just rubbed in her face that she was his ex-wife so she took the opportunity to grab the nearby vase and throw it at her.  Harry quickly stepped in front of Hermione and sent the vase off to the side with his wand.  The vase shattered when it hit the wall and Hermione turned around quickly to see Harry standing in front of her.

“How very Slytherin of you Ginny to throw something at me while I had my back turned.” Fumed Hermione and Ron took this as his cue to pull her out of the room.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” asked Harry yelling at Ginny?

“ME?  How dare she talk to me like that in my own home!” yelled Ginny

Harry took a deep breath to try and calm himself.  He didn’t need this shit.  His daughter was raped and just had a miscarriage!  What the fuck was wrong with these two.  He needed to get to work.  “Look, I don’t know what just happened between the two of you and I probably don’t want to, if the few things I did hear are any indication of what was being discussed.  I need to go to work.  I only have 5 Aurors left to pick so I won’t be long.  But I want to make this perfectly clear Ginny, if you ever pull something like that again with Hermione, I promise you will not like my reaction.  Is that clear?” asked Harry fiercely

Ginny snubbed her nose at him and turned her face to the side refusing to answer him. 

He quickly walked over to her until he was only inches away from her and growled, “Hermione is my best friend.  She always has been and always will be.  Whatever was going on clearly had something to do with the fact that you just found out Ron left us alone for weeks…”

“YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!” yelled Ginny

“IT WAS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!” snapped Harry

Ginny gasped and took a step back; she looked like she had been physically slapped.  “I was your wife!”

Harry laughed at that and didn’t bother to respond.  For several minutes they just stared at each other until finally Harry said, “I need to go.  I’ll be back in a few hours.  Lily asked Scorpius to spend the day with her watching movies and I just gave her her pain potions so she should be good for a few hours.  Let me know if she needs me.” 

He then turned to leave when Ginny spoke up again…“This new girlfriend of yours is in for a rude awakening when she realizes that Hermione will always be the most important woman in your life.”

Harry sighed and turned to her and said, “Gin, enough.  We both know why you and I didn’t work out and it had nothing to do with Hermione.  Stop trying to blame it on her.  We’re not married anymore and I don’t have to answer to you.  Why don’t you worry about your fiancé, or better yet, your daughter,” and he walked to the Floo and left.

Ginny walked out of the kitchen and yelled to the kids, “I’m going to take a shower,” as she went to her room.

The kids all got up and bolted to Lily’s room to gossip about what just happened.  When they got there they closed the door and put up a silencing charm making Lily raise her eyebrows at them and ask, “What’s up?”

“Holy shit Lily!  Mum and Aunt Hermione just got into a huge fight and Dad broke it up and then her and Dad got into a huge fight!” rushed out Al

“What?  Seriously, What were they fighting about?” asked Lily trying to sit up further. 

They all sat down on Lily’s bed, which was hard considering there, were six of them but they managed.  They then relayed all the details to Lily and Scorpius of what happened and when they were finished Lily was in awe. 

“I can’t believe we never knew Uncle Ron left them.” Said James

“We didn’t know any of that!  They never talked about it really, but it sounded horrible!” exclaimed Rose

“Mum was totally jealous of Aunt Hermione.  It was really weird.” Said Al

“Yeah, but I can see her point, Uncle Harry always takes my mum’s side of things and is always looking out for her.” Said Hugo

“Honestly, if Harry and Mum really wanted to be together all those years ago, they would have.  Do you really think they would have let anyone stand in their way if that’s what they wanted?” asked Rose

They all nodded in agreement and then Lily asked, “You don’t think his new girlfriend will be bothered by Aunt Hermione, do you?”

Al and Rose exchanged a glance while everyone thought about it but it was Scorpius that replied, “No, I don’t think so.  I mean I’m an outsider and I see them interact all the time. It’s obvious they care a great deal about each other, but what they have isn’t sexual, it’s more familial.  His girlfriend should be able to see that, besides didn’t you guys say that they already knew each other?  So she probably already knows how close Harry is with Hermione and would know not to try and get in the middle of that.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Replied James then he said, “I’m dying to know whom he’s seeing.  Who do you think it is?”

They threw out names for a few minutes before Rose couldn’t take it anymore so she stood and said, “I need to head to the dance studio for a few hours, but I’ll be back later to check on you Lily, OK?”

“Sure.  I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.” Replied Lily

Al got up as well and said, “I’m going to go take a shower, I’ll be back,” and left the room with Rose.

“You really OK with everything?” asked Al as they were walking towards the living room.

“Yeah, I am. I really believe that if they wanted to be together they would be.” Replied Rose then she stopped and turned to Al and continued, “Al, I’m sorry about what my mum said about your mum not loving your dad…I’m sure she was just angry.”

“I’m not so sure, Rosie.  I love my Mum but there were these times when I would feel that everything was fake, that she didn’t really love my Dad.  It sort of all made sense when they said they were getting divorced.  At least, they both seem much happier now.” Said Al shrugging.

Rose hugged him in response and left telling him she’d be back later.

Harry didn’t get to work until almost noon and he was still fuming about everything.  People were going out of their way in the halls to avoid him, as he was radiating anger.  He stormed into his office and slammed the door behind him.  He just needed a few minutes to try and calm down before he went to deal with picking the rest of the Aurors.  Although at this point they were probably already picked and he probably just needed to sign off on them.  He wanted nothing more than to scream in frustration right now.  He was still angry with Ginny for whatever happened with her and Hermione.  He was furious with Teddy and was tempted to go back to his house and haul him in to press charges against him even though he knew Lily wouldn’t support him and Teddy would just end up getting released.  He sat down on the side of his desk and looked out the fake window of his office.  He was feeling guilty for cursing Teddy and even guiltier for making Lily so upset that she had a miscarriage.  He was basically responsible for the death of his grandchild and that made him feel even worse.  He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.  He really just wanted to see Rose and pretend none of this was happening but he knew that wasn’t an option.  There was a knock at his door and he said, “What?”

Christina opened the door and said, “I’m sorry to bother you Mr. Potter but Miss Weasley is here to see you.”

Harry got up and walked to the door to see Rose waiting.  He smiled and said, “Hey, come in.”

She smiled back and entered his office and he closed the door behind her and cast a few privacy charms.

“I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to,” said Rose shyly

He walked over to her and gave her a gentle kiss then pulled away and said, “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

She beamed at him and said, “Well, I’m glad I came then.  I wasn’t sure if you would be mad at me for coming here.”

He shook his head no and kissed her again.  When he pulled away she said, “I don’t have a lot of time because I was on my way to the dance studio but I wanted to make sure you were alright.  This morning seemed a little intense.”

Harry chuckled and said, “Yeah, just a little.  But I’m much better now, thanks to you.”

“Do you want to talk about anything?” asked Rose

Harry sighed and said, “I don’t know where to begin…. I’m disgusted with what Teddy did; honestly, I feel slightly murderous still.  Part of me wants to go back and finish what I started but another part of me wants to bring him in and press charges against him, then there’s a small part of me that refuses to forget he’s like a son to me.  On top of all that I feel guilty for cursing him and I feel guilty for causing Lily to have a miscarriage.  Then as if this wasn’t enough, I don’t know what the fuck happened with Ginny and Hermione this morning.  I’m basically a mess,” finished Harry raising his hands above his head in frustration.

“Oh, Harry, I’m so sorry,” replied Rose hugging him.  He buried his face in her neck and she rubbed his back soothingly for a while, neither saying anything, but just enjoying being close.  Harry finally pulled away and said, “Thanks, Love.  I really needed that,” then he kissed her on the tip of her nose, making her smile.

“Anytime, love.  I guess I should get going, everyone is probably waiting for me at the studio.  I told Lily I would only stay a few hours then I would go back and stay with her.” Said Rose

“OK.  I guess I’ll see you tonight then when I finish here.” Replied Harry

“Sounds like a plan.  Don’t kill yourself working today, alright, love?” asked Rose

He smiled genuinely and nodded saying, “I’ll do my best to make it out alive.”

She laughed and opened the door to leave, winking at him before she turned and said goodbye to Christina and left.

Harry smiled staring at the space Rose was just standing before he finally snapped out of it and asked, “Christina, did they pick the final five Aurors yet?”

“No, Mr. Potter, they’re still working on it.” Replied Christina looking at him curiously.  He seemed much happier now even though just 10 minutes ago he was looking murderous.

“I’m going to head over to help them then, but my daughter isn’t feeling well, so please come get me if my family is looking for me.” Said Harry

“I’m sorry to hear that Mr. Potter.  Of course I will come get you if anything comes up.” Replied Christina

“Thanks Christina and sorry about earlier…  You wouldn’t believe the past 24 hours I’ve had.” Replied Harry shaking his head and leaving the office.

Harry entered the conference room and closed the door behind him.  He sat down sighing heavily and said, “I’m sorry everyone, I had a family emergency come up.”

“Is everything alright?” asked several people

Harry shook his head no but replied, “For now, there’s nothing else I can do.   Have you managed to pick the final five?”

They all looked at him concerned but filled him in on what they were doing.  One of his coworkers summarized everything saying, “We thought it over and talked about our current Aurors and realized we are lacking those with a strong knowledge of the dark arts.  Everyone is great at defense but we could really use some that understand the history of dark arts and some of the older uses for it.  We realized that we need Aurors that come from the previously darker pureblood families.  The problem with this is that we don’t know any of their names.  We’ve already taken a small number of applicants whose families don’t work in the ministry, which would be one indicator, since most of the older families have plenty of money and therefore wouldn’t work for the ministry but we’re going back and trying to find more.  We also thought that because of how pureblood families think, the applicants most likely wouldn’t have taken Muggle studies in school.  It’s usually the half-blood’s or more progressive purebloods that take it.  I know all of that sounds quite controversial, but what do you think?”

Harry frowned while he was listening to the summary but the more he thought about it the more sense it made.  They really could use Aurors that had the knowledge of the history of dark arts and not just defense of the newer dark arts.  He finally responded, “I agree, it’s controversial, and I don’t like having to look at it that way, but I have to admit that we could use some Aurors with the knowledge of the history of dark arts and how pureblood families used to apply it, because it’s what dark wizards will know and how they will do things.”

They all looked relieved when he finished.

“So, what have you found so far?” asked Harry

“Well, we back to the original set of applicants again, then we filtered for the best grades in the core classes, then we filtered for applicants who do not have family working at the ministry, then we filtered for applicants who did not take Muggle studies, and we’ve ended up with this final batch of 20.  We were just going to start looking at each individual application.” Replied one of his coworkers.

“Alright, why don’t we read their description aloud again as to why they want to be an Auror.  That seemed to work well for us the last few days.” Replied Harry

They all agreed and started reading the essays finding that there were a lot of interesting applicants.  After a few hours they had 8 applicants that they wanted to keep.  Harry frowned knowing that now they had too many and said, “Ok.  Here’s what we’re going to do.  I’m going to take these eight and combine them with the 20 we already have.  Then I’m going to ask the Minister if we can accept 28 instead of 25.  If he says yes, then problem solved.  If he says no, then tomorrow we will go through the 28 applicants and wean them down to 25.  Either way, go home for today and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They thanked him and he grabbed the eight files to bring to his office.  When he got there he asked Christina if she could contact the Minister to see if he could meet with him now.  He grabbed the other 20 files and started to look them over when Christina poked her head in his office and said, “The Minister said he could see you now if you’d like.”

He smiled at her and said, “Thanks, I’ll just head over now,” and took the files with him.  He made to the Minister’s office quickly and the secretary let him in.

“Harry, so good to see you.” Greeted Kingsley standing up shaking his hand

“You as well, Minister” replied Harry

“Harry, how many times have I told you to stop calling me Minister?” asked Kingsley teasingly

“Too many to count, Minister.” Replied Harry chuckling

“Yes, and yet you continue to call me Minister. Now what can I do for you, Harry?” replied Kingsley

“I have a bit of a problem with the selection of Auror trainees and was wondering if you could help me.” Replied Harry

Kingsley raised his eyebrows and said, “Go on.”

“Well, you see I’ve found 28 applicants that I would like to offer trainee positions to.” Replied Harry

“Ah, yes, that does sound like a problem, since there are only 25 spots.  So you would like me to authorize the other 3 spots?” asked Kingsley

“Yes, sir that would be the simplest solution.” Replied Harry

“Well Harry, I may be willing to allow this in return for a favor.” Answered Kingsley

“What can I do for you Minister?” asked Harry amused

“Harry, I’m sure you’ve realized that I’m getting on in age and I would like to retire one of these days, however, I would feel better if I could train my replacement.” Replied Kingsley

Harry replied smirking, “Honestly, Minister, I hadn’t noticed you, as you say “getting on in age.”

Kingsley chucked in response then said, “Seriously, Harry would you consider taking over as Minister?”

“Me?” asked Harry shocked

Kingsley laughed and said, “No, how silly of me, I was thinking of the other Harry Potter.”

Harry laughed briefly then turned serious and replied, “May I be honest with you Sir?”

“Of course, Harry.” Replied Kingsley

“I was actually thinking of retiring myself after I finished selecting the new Aurors.” Said Harry seriously

“Well, now that does create a problem.  May I ask why are you thinking about retiring?” asked Kingsley

Harry sighed and replied, “There are several reasons really.  I feel more and more like it’s just a job these days.  I don’t love it like I used to.”

“I can understand that, but becoming Minister would be completely new to you and you could make the changes you want more easily.  I sense there is another reason that is closer to the root of the decision.” Replied Kingsley

Harry smiled and said, “I’ve met someone.  Well, not really met but re-met… Anyway, I’d like to be able to spend time with her and travel and maybe have more children.”

Kingsley smiled broadly and replied, “That’s wonderful Harry.  I’m happy for you, truly.  You deserve it.  Care to tell me who the lucky witch is?”

“Well, it’s a bit controversial actually…” said Harry

Kingsley frowned and said, “You’re not related to her are you?”

“No, No, but… it’s hard to explain without revealing who it is.” Replied Harry frustrated

“Harry, you know you can trust me.  I can take a wizards oath if you want…” said Kingsley

“You’re right…I know I can trust you….” Replied Harry thinking pensively then he said, “It’s Rose Weasley.”

Kingsley definitely was shocked and spent several minutes thinking quietly before replying, “You’re right it is controversial.  You’re not related by blood but it’s close enough that people will still be apprehensive.  That’s quite a conundrum you’ve got there, Harry.  I take it you’re quite serious if you’re thinking of retiring to be with her?”

Harry smiled genuinely and said, “Yes, I’m sure it won’t be long before I ask her to marry me.”

Kingsley smiled and asked, “Do your families know?”

“Hermione and Al know, but no one else does.  We’re waiting a little bit before we tell them, but I can’t imagine we’ll wait much longer.  It’s getting harder to hide it and I really don’t want to.” Replied Harry

“Well I can understand not wanting to hide it if you’re this happy with her.  If there’s anything I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask.” Said Kingsley and when Harry nodded he continued, “Now, I would still like you to consider the Minister position, even if only to humor me.”

“Thank you Minister, I will consider it.  May I ask if you have someone in mind besides me?” asked Harry

Kingsley chuckled and said, “Well, it’s quite funny considering what we were just discussing but the other person I was considering asking was Hermione.”

Harry beamed and said, “Hermione would be a fabulous choice, Minister.  And even better if you ask me because she’s a witch and I don’t think we have enough witches in high power positions here at the Ministry.”

“I agree Harry, we don’t have enough witches in the upper levels of the Ministry.  Do you think she would agree?” asked Kingsley

“Without a doubt, she would jump at the chance.” Replied Harry sincerely.

“Alright, I’ll give you until tomorrow to change your mind.  Let me see about these extra Aurors in the meantime.  Why don’t we meet again in the morning, say 10AM?” asked Kingsley

“Sounds good, Minister.  Thank you.” Replied Harry getting up and shaking his hand before leaving.

He headed home to shower and change and then flooed to see Lily.  When he got there the house was quite loud, obviously the kids were enjoying themselves.  He found them all in the living room.  Lily had moved to the couch and Rose, Hugo, Scorpius, James and Al were all piled around the TV watching a movie.  Whatever it was seemed to be quite funny because they all were laughing and smiling, even Lily.  After a minute of watching them, they finally noticed him…

“Hi Daddy.” Said Lily

“Hi Pumpkin, how are you feeling?” asked Harry walking over to her and kissing her forehead.

“I’m feeling better… as long as I take the potions on time the pain’s not so bad.” Replied Lily smiling at his gesture.

“I’m glad.  Can I get you anything?” asked Harry

“I’m a little hungry, will you ask Mum if we’re going to eat soon?” asked Lily

“Sure thing.  I’ll be right back.” Replied Harry winking at Rose when everyone had turned back to watch the movie.

Harry left the room not really looking forward to talking with Ginny after this morning.  He found her in the kitchen.

“Hey.” Said Harry

She turned around and said, “Hey.”

“How was she today?” asked Harry

“She was OK, as long as she took her next potion dose before the previous one wore off.  Since we figured that out, she’s been feeling much better.  She spent a few hours in her room and she just came out to the living room about an hour ago.  The boys haven’t left her side all day, it’s really something.” Replied Ginny not really making eye contact but busying herself putting dinner together.

“Gin, I thought I’d stay for a few hours…Do you want to go out with Cormac while I’m here?” asked Harry tentatively

Ginny whipped around and stared at him and asked, “Is it so hard to be in the same house with me?”

Harry sighed and replied, “No, Gin, it’s not.  I just thought you could probably use a break.  You’ve been here all day with the kids.”

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t respond further.

“Do you need any help with dinner?” asked Harry making an effort again to smooth things over with her.

“No, I’ve got it,” snapped Ginny

“Gin…” said Harry warily

She sighed heavily and dropped what she was doing and turned around to look at him.  They looked at each other for several minutes before Ginny finally said, “Look, I’m sorry I got so upset this morning.  Your relationship with Hermione has just always been a weak spot for me…”

Harry nodded and replied, “I wasn’t hiding the fact that Ron left us from you…it was just such a horrible time that I didn’t even want to think about it again never mind talk about it.”

“Maybe one day you’ll tell me about it.” Said Ginny softly

Harry nodded but didn’t say anything else so Ginny went back to preparing dinner.  Harry decided to at least set the table while he was there.  When dinner was ready they all sat down to eat with Harry sitting next to Rose…

“So how was dancing today?” he asked

She smiled at him and replied, “It was great.  I‘ve been working so hard but I feel like it’s paying off.”

Harry smiled back and said, “Good, I’m glad.” Then his eyes sparkled mischievously and he asked, “And how is Michael?”

Rose laughed and replied, “He doing well, I’ll let him know you were asking for him.  Perhaps I could set you two up?”

Harry chuckled and said, “Yes, perhaps, but I don’t know what my kids would say about it.”

“What are you talking about?” asked James curiously

Rose smiled and said, “Oh, Harry was just giving me a hard time about my dance coach.  He saw me on my way to dance one day and thought that I was dating my dance coach because of how I was dressed.  I told him that I was pretty sure my dance coach wasn’t interested in me because he’s gay.  So I was just offering to set Harry up on a date with him since he seems so interested in him.”  She then turned and surveyed Harry then said, “yes, I do believe he would find you attractive.”

They both burst out laughing and everyone chuckled (well except Ginny).

“Uncle Harry’s right, some of the stuff you wear is just wrong.  I can’t believe Dad let’s you out of the house sometimes.” Said Hugo

“Oh, please.  You should see what the other girls wear.  Honestly, some of them walk around in a sports bra and shorts.  At least I cover up myself.” Huffed Rose

“Really?” asked James quirking an eyebrow.  “When did you say your audition was?”

“James!” gasped Rose

“What?  I’m just coming to support you!” replied James grinning

“I hadn’t even thought about that!  You’re brilliant James!” said Hugo smiling

Rose groaned and Harry laughed then Al said, “Yeah, maybe I’ll come as well.”

“Al, you have a girlfriend!” yelled Lily smacking his arm

“Ow, Lily.  It’s not like we’re exclusive or anything.  Besides what harm is there in looking?” replied Al smirking.

Lily glared at him then turned to see Scorpius grinning at Al and she smacked his arm as well, huffing, “prats,” under her breath.

Ginny spoke up then saying, “So tell us about the audition and what happens if you get picked.”

Rose smiled and said, “The audition will have hundred of dancers, some just for one type of dance, and others for several types. I picked the hardest group to audition for of course.  It’s sort of an all around dance company, so I have to be good at all types of classical dance; tap, ballet, Pointe, jazz, and the like.  Tap is my weakest skill so I’ve been practicing tons.  They’re 40 girls in this group and if you get picked it’s for one year.  You have to re-audition every year.  So what will happen is first I’ll audition for each type of dance and if I score high enough on all the types then I can audition for the group I want.  So I’ll spend all day getting through that and probably be exhausted by the time the audition starts for the group I really want.  It’s a lot of work and I’ve been trying to practice as much as I can.”

“So if you make it, what will you do during the year?” asked Ginny

“Well it’s full time, so I would practice everyday and have shows several nights a week.  It involves a fair amount of travel as well.” Replied Rose

“What about your schooling?  I thought you wanted to be a Healer?” replied Ginny

Rose shrugged and said, “If I was lucky enough to get picked, I wouldn’t turn it down.  It’s only a year and healer training would still be there when I was done.”

“And Aunt Hermione is OK with that?” asked Lily

“She is…she’s been very supportive.  She said I needed to find my own way and decide for myself what I want.  Plus she knows how much I enjoy dancing.” Replied Rose smiling then she added, “I’m sure my Dad will be a different story though.”

Ginny laughed and said, “Yes, I’m sure he’ll have a fair amount to say about it.  How has he been with you since your fight about your new boyfriend?”

Rose tensed up a bit and replied, “He’s been fine since we set some ground rules.”

“Well, that’s good.” Replied Ginny

“Rose, you totally had Dad wrapped around your finger.  He started off saying how she couldn’t have a boyfriend and went on and on and by the time Rose was through with him she only had to promise she wouldn’t have any babies until she was married.” Said Hugo laughing

Al who was drinking his pumpkin juice while Hugo was talking suddenly spit it all out choking when he heard the baby part.  Coughing and spewing still he gasped looking straight at Rose and asked, “You’re joking, right?”

She narrowed her eyes at him and said, “No, I told him I wouldn’t have any babies until after I was married.”

He spluttered some more under his breath making everyone look at him strangely

“Al, honestly, I don’t know what has gotten into you lately.  You seem to have serious issues with other people dating.  You went all mental when your Dad told you he was dating someone, and now you’re spitting out your juice over Rose’s new boyfriend.  What’s going on with you?” asked Ginny curiously

Harry and Rose were frowning at him now and the others were looking at him waiting for a response…

“Nothing.  I don’t know.  I guess it just freaks me out because I don’t want a serious relationship so I don’t understand it.” Said Al quickly

“So, you’re going to be just like your brother then and bring home a new girl every week?” asked Ginny sternly

“Hey!” yelled James

“James, it’s so true.” Laughed Lily

“It’s because I play Quidditch, they just throw themselves at me!” huffed James

“Yes, I’m sure they have to twist your arm to get you to take them home.” Smirked Scorpius and they all laughed.

“It’s funny how only the youngest of my children is in an actual relationship.  And Scorpius doesn’t seem to mind at all, do you Scorpius?” asked Ginny putting him on the spot

“No, not at all.” He replied grabbing Lily’s hand.

“Good answer.” Said Harry

“Did you finish picking your new Aurors today Harry?” asked Ginny

“Maybe.  We picked 28 and I asked Kingsley if we could have them all instead of cutting three of them.  He’s going to let me know tomorrow but I’ve never asked before so hopefully he’ll say yes.” Replied Harry

“We’re there a lot of good applicants this year, is that why you picked more?” asked Rose

“There’s always lots of good applicants but we looked at them differently this year.  We tried to figure out what we were missing in our current group and look for it in the applicants.  I think we ended up with a great bunch in the end though.” Replied Harry

“When are you two going to tell us what you applied for?” Lily asked Scorpius and Al.

They both laughed in response knowing that she hated not getting what she wanted

“Come on!” whined Lily

Al chuckled and said, “you’ll know when we find out if we got in or not.”

“What happens if one of you gets in but not the other?” asked Rose

“I’m already expecting Al to get in but not me, so I won’t be surprised.” Replied Scorpius.

“Who are you kidding, Scor.  Neither of us is going to get in!  Our families will be so ashamed of us they’ll kick us out and we’ll have to live on the streets.” Said Al laughing

“Don’t laugh, I just may consider that.” Replied Ginny smirking

“Well, do you have back up plans just in case?” asked Harry

“Yeah, but I’m hoping I won’t need it.” Said Scorpius

“I don’t.  Not sure what I’m going to do if it doesn’t work out.” Said Al making Ginny groan

“There’s always Quidditch, little Bro!” said James

“Yes, because playing professional Quidditch is everyone’s back up plan!” said Lily sarcastically

“What, it’s not like he’s not good.  He’s my brother after all.  Besides, I could get him in to the tryouts if he wanted.” Said James mockingly offended

“Let’s hope that his first choice works out because I can’t handle another professional Quidditch player and his rotating girl of the week in my house!” said Ginny exasperatedly.

They all laughed and Harry said, “James, perhaps you should consider getting your own place and give your mother some peace.”

“But who will cook for me? And clean?” asked James incredulously

“Maybe you could do it yourself!” replied Lily

“What?  No, I can’t do that.  I have no idea how.” Said James completely serious, which made them all laugh harder. 

They continued to tease James for a while then when dinner was finished Lily took her potions and said she wasn’t feeling well and going to take a shower and get ready for bed.

Scorpius said good night to her and when she had left the room he grabbed Al and went to his room closing the door behind them…

“Al, what’s going on?  I get the feeling this isn’t just Lily being sick, what happened?” asked Scorpius

“Scor, I can’t.  I promised I wouldn’t say anything.” Replied Al clearly torn

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at Al and replied, “Al, she’s my girlfriend, I’m worried about her.”

Al nodded and evasively replied, “She’s better than she was yesterday Scor.  She’ll be fine in a couple days.”

“Damn it Al, tell me what’s going on!” snapped Scorpius

Al sighed and sat down on his bed thinking for a few minutes before saying seriously, “Don’t you think I want to tell you, I just can’t.  My mum made me promise not to tell you.  It’s not my place to say what happened to Lily.  You need to talk to her about it.”

Scorpius ran his hands through his hair and sat down in the desk chair and said, “She won’t tell me.  I asked her this morning and she said she didn’t want to talk about it.  Is it bad?”

Al nodded but didn’t say anything.

“But she’s going to be OK?” asked Scorpius worriedly

“Yeah…” replied Al

“I’ll try again with Lily, but as long as she’s going to be OK, I won’t push.” Replied Scorpius clearly frustrated

Al nodded and then said, “Thank you, Scor.  Not just for this but for….” He stopped, unsure of how to tell Scorpius how thankful he was that he hadn’t had sex with his sister because she wasn’t ready…how do you say something like that? “For everything.” Finished Al

Scorpius raised his eyebrows at him and said, “What are you thanking me for?  I’m crazy for your sister, you know that.”

“Yeah, I guess I just didn’t realize how much until this week.” Replied Al sincerely

Scorpius nodded and looked at Al. He could tell Al wanted to say more but wasn’t sure what else there was to say, so he changed the subject.  “I’m dying to find out if we made it, aren’t you?”

Al smiled at the subject change, relieved that they could move on.  “Yeah, it’s all I could do not tell him.”

“It sounded like they changed the way they picked them this year, do you think that’s bad or good for us?” asked Scorpius

“It’s probably good for you and bad for me.” Replied Al

“I don’t think so, I think you’re going to get a spot no matter what.” Said Scorpius

“Scor, it’s not like they can see Albus Potter on the application, there’s nothing that’s going to jump out at them.”

“Look, we did everything we could.  We were top of our class, we did great on the OWLS and NEWTS, and we even took Runes for Merlin’s sake!  Nobody takes that class unless they’re mental.  The only thing I’m worried about it my essay, I was really honest in it.” Replied Scorpius

“I know, we did do everything…. Yeah the essay was the hardest part.  I didn’t want them to read it and know whom my dad was so I had to be creative.  What did you say?”

“I told them that I came from a family of mostly dark wizards and that I wanted to prove that we weren’t all dark.” Replied Scorpius

Al winced at that and said, “Wow, you really were honest.”

“Yeah, what did you say?” asked Scorpius

“I said that my grandparents were murdered by dark wizards and it took a long time for the killer to be brought to justice which was hard on my family and that I wanted to help ensure others didn’t have to suffer like my family had.” Relied Al seriously

Scorpius nodded and said, “That is creative.  It’s completely true but general enough that they wouldn’t know who you are.”

“Well we only have a couple more weeks until we find out, so we’ll know soon enough.” Said Al then he continued, “I have no idea what I’m going to do if I don’t get in.  There’s really nothing else that I want to do.” Sighed Al

“Yeah, working with my Dad managing all our businesses is not my idea of an exciting life.” Said Scorpius chuckling.

Al laughed and said, “Well I guess I could take my brother up on his offer and try out for Quidditch.”

“I think your Mum would kill you.” Said Scorpius laughing

“She would.  James really needs to get his own place.  He’s always got a new girl around and those are just the ones that we see, I’m sure there are plenty that we never see.”

“Lily doesn’t mind?” asked Scor curiously

“Not so much, she usually just rolls her eyes and leaves it as that.  It’s like she expects that from him.  Not me though, you heard her at dinner, ‘Al, you have a girlfriend,’ somehow she thinks I’m not supposed to do the same.” Said Al confused

“You have a different relationship with her than James.  She seems to expect better behavior from you for some reason.  Maybe it’s because you were in Slytherin and she didn’t get to see all your partying like she did James.” Replied Scorpius

“She saw enough when she was with you.” Replied Al

“She was too busy with me to even notice you Al,” said Scorpius cheekily

Al threw a pillow at him for that and said, “Git.”

Scorpius laughed and got up saying, “I guess I’ll head home.”

They left Al’s room and walked towards the floo in the living room…

At the same time Al and Scorpius were talking, Rose and Harry were in the living room.  Harry was sitting on the couch with Rose sitting next to him.  They sat in silence for several minutes, but it wasn’t awkward at all, rather like they just needed some peace and quiet.

“Are you staying here again tonight?” asked Rose turning towards him

“I’m not sure, I guess I see what Lily wants.” Replied Harry quickly squeezing her thigh.

She smiled and said, “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”  She then looked around and got up making Harry raise his eyebrow at her.  She then moved in front of him and pushed his legs apart, coming in between them.  She bent down and grabbed his hands bringing them up behind his head with hers.  She held them in place and he smiled devilishly at her.  She winked and bent down over him so that her hair was on either side of his face and she said huskily, “I miss you.”

Harry smiled and said, “I miss you too.”

She raised her right leg and placed her knee on the couch in between his legs and rubbed against him saying, “No, I really miss you.”

He gasped at the seductive move and tried to pull his hands free, and was unsuccessful.

“Now, now, Mr. Potter. You must have patience.” Rose said commandingly

He groaned out “Evil witch.”

She chuckled and kissed his neck and sucked on his ear lobe just long enough to make Harry buck his hips making her moan.

“Where’s Mom?” asked Al loudly from the doorway, fairly annoyed at walking in on this.

Rose jumped away from Harry like she had been burned and Harry cleared his throat before replying, “Cormac’s.”

Al nodded and looked to Scorpius to see that he was shocked and was looking at Rose like he had never seen her before.  Rose was blushing profusely and wasn’t making eye contact with him.

“Are you going home Scorpius?” asked Harry getting up off the couch

Scorpius still stunned just nodded in reply and Al nudged him towards the floo.  Scorpius threw Al a confused look but when he didn’t get any response from Al, he turned to the floo and went home.

Al turned around and stared them down, surprising Harry for a moment but then Rose spoke up, “Sorry, Al, I didn’t realize Scor was still here.”

Harry frowned when he heard this but Al replied before he could say anything.

“Seriously Rosie, in my house?  You couldn’t wait! What if my Mum was here!” yelled Al

“I knew she had gone out Al!  I’m not completely oblivious!” snapped Rose getting angry

“What about Lily or James!” yelled back Al

Harry had enough of this.  He stepped in between them and said fiercely, “Enough Al.  Lily is in the bath and James went out for a little while.  And may I remind you that I don’t answer to you.”

Al clenched his jaw angrily and turned away from his father. 

Rose sighed and said, “Al, I’m sorry.  You’re right, I shouldn’t have done that in your house.”

“Stop apologizing Rose.” Said Harry annoyed

“No Harry!” snapped Rose then she turned to face Al and said, “Al, I know this is going to be hard to figure out, but I don’t want you to hate me.” Said Rose on the verge of tears.

The trembling in her voice made Al turn around to look at her and he felt horrible.  He walked over to her and gave her a hug and said, “I’m sorry Rosie, I don’t want to fight with you.  I just…I’m still getting used to this and you caught me off guard.”

Harry was watching this play out slightly shocked.

“I’m sorry I upset you, OK?” asked Al

She sniffled a little and nodded, then pulled out of his embrace.  They both turned to see Harry’s surprised face.

Al said, “Why don’t you two go out for a little while.  I can stay with Lily in case she needs anything.”

They were both a little shocked at this and just stared at him then Lily spoke up from the doorway and said, “Yeah, I was just coming to tell you all to do the same.  I’m going to bed now anyway.”

Rose and Harry quickly turned to see Lily in the doorway in her pajamas smiling at them.  They had no idea how long she had been there.

“What did you do to make Rose upset Al?” asked Lily curiously

This clued them in as to how long she was there and Al replied, “You know me, just being my usual clueless self.”

Lily rolled her eyes and said, “yeah, I figured. But seriously, I’m fine.  You guys should go, you don’t have to babysit me.”

“Lily, we’re not babysitting you, we’re just worried.  We want to be here for you.” Said Rose genuinely.

Lily nodded and said, “I know, I do.  But I’m tired and I’m just going to go to sleep.  I set my alarm for when I need to take my potions so there’s nothing for you to do here.  Go do something fun.”

“Are you sure, sweetheart?  Why don’t I stay until your Mum gets back at least?” said Harry

“Dad, I’m sure.  Thank you, but I’m fine.  Please, Go.” Said Lily exasperated

Harry frowned but nodded.

“Do you want me to come back and stay here tonight?” asked Rose

Lily shook her head and said, “No.  Go.  Come back tomorrow and keep me company.”

Rose smiled at her and gave her a hug and a kiss then said, “Alright, I’ll see you in the morning.  But call me if you need anything tonight, OK?”

Lily huffed and said, “Fine, now go.”

Rose smiled and left through the floo.

Harry did the same after telling Lily and Al to call him if they needed anything at all.


	5. James Really Doesn't Want to Know

I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry had only been home for a few minutes when he got a text from Rose asking, “Can I come over?”

He smiled and replied, “Of course.”

A minute later Rose was in his living room and he raised his eyebrow at her.

She smiled and said sheepishly, “I was just going to come over but I decided at the last minute that maybe I should ask first.”

He strode over to her quickly, and kissed her soundly. After a few minutes he pulled away and said breathlessly, “You never have to ask to come over.”

She smiled broadly and he asked, “So, what would you like to do?”

In response she grabbed his hand and started pulling him up the stairs and simply said, “you, me, bedroom, now.”

He laughed and said, “Don’t you want to get dinner?”

“No, we can eat later.” She growled making him laugh even harder.

She quickly pulled him into his bedroom and slammed the door shut, pushing him down on the bed.

“Impatient much?” asked Harry but he was cut off from saying anything else by Rose’s passionate kiss.  She seemed to have a plan so Harry just went along with it. It was quite an enjoyable plan and it involved a lot of moaning and begging on his part. About a half hour into Rose’s torture of Harry his floo activated downstairs.

James arrived in his Dad’s living room and he quickly started making his way up the stairs to his room.  He wasn’t here that often but he couldn’t find his wallet anywhere so it was worth a shot checking to see if it was here. About halfway up the stairs he heard moaning and laughing.  He stopped hardly believing what he was hearing.  His Dad had a witch over!  “Go Dad!” he thought smiling.  He passed his Dad’s room and noticed the door was closed and made his way up the next flight to his room.  After 10 minutes of searching his room he finally found his wallet in the back pocket of a pair of jeans he wore the last time he went out to a muggle place.  The entire time he was searching he could hear the sounds of what was obviously great sex. His Dad was clearly enjoying himself if the moans were anything to go by.  He chuckled and started to make his way down the stairs when he heard a squeal from the witch and his Dad say, “you evil witch, it’s time for payback.” James had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He made his way downstairs and decided to leave his Dad a note, letting him know he was here while he was busy…

“Dad, Stopped by to find my wallet, I left it in my jeans last time I was here.  Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say Hi, but you seemed somewhat occupied … James”

James left the note on the hall table and flooed back home to tell Al what just happened before he headed back out for the night.

“Al!” yelled James when he got home

“Shhhhhh” snapped Al coming into the living room, “Lily’s asleep you idiot!”

“Oh, sorry.  But you’ll never believe what just happened!” said James excitedly

Al rolled his eyes and asked sarcastically, “What James, did another witch throw herself at you while you were out?”

James grabbed a nearby pillow from the sofa and flung at Al replying, “NO, you prat.  I had to go to Dad’s because I couldn’t find my wallet and when I got there he was obviously in the middle of shagging a witch!”

James was nearly bouncing up and down he was so excited about this but Al just frowned.  “Did you hear me Al?” asked James confused but still excited.

“Yeah, I heard you.  I don’t want to hear about it, please.  The thought of Dad having sex is SO not what I want to have in my head.” Replied Al somewhat disgusted

James was surprised by this and said, “Why not? I mean he’s single and he’s a guy. He certainly seemed like he was enjoying himself.  You should be happy for him.  I mean wouldn’t you be happy if it was me?”

Al sighed and sat down on the couch and said, “Yeah of course I’d be happy if it was you and I am happy for him, I just don’t want to hear about it.  I mean I know that he must have sex being a guy and all, and he obviously had sex with mum to have the three of us but I really don’t want to think about it.”

“That’s stupid.  I was psyched for him and he’s clearly very good with the amount of moaning and what not I had to listen to.” Smirked James

“James!  Stop!  I don’t want to hear anymore!  How long did you stay and listen to them, you pervert?” snapped Al

“It took me like 10 minutes to find my wallet and I could hear them the whole time!  I wasn’t listening to them on purpose; I just heard them while I was in my room looking for my wallet!  I don’t know why you’re so freaked out by it, Al.  Mum’s right, you have serious relationship issues. You’re not gay, are you?” asked James curiously

Al shot up out of his chair and shoved James, “What! Of course I’m not gay, you prat!”

James held up his hands in surrender and said, “OK, OK, relax.  I was just asking. Anyway you should have heard them ‘Oh don’t stop!  Please!’” James was talking in a strange voice and practically falling over hysterical from the whole thing.

Suddenly the floo activated and James turned to see a very pretty witch standing in his living room.  “Hello.” He said huskily extending his hand to the petite blonde.

Al pushed him aside and said, “Bridget, my brother was just leaving.  Weren’t you James?”

James sighed and replied, “Yes, I guess I was. I seem to be the only Potter without a date tonight, but not for long.”  He then walked to the floo and turned and said, “Nice meeting you Bridget.”

She smiled in response and turned to Al when James had left and kissed him properly. She hadn’t seen him in over a week and they had a lot of time to make up for.  When she pulled away she said, “Hey.”

He smiled and said, “Hey.”

“So, do we have the place to ourselves?” she asked shyly looking around for the rest of his family. She had never met any of them, as she went to school at Beauxbatons. Her and Al had met at a party a few months ago and were well on their way to shagging when she was suddenly very sick from the amount of firewhiskey she drank. He was so sweet; he had stayed with her even though he barely knew her.  They had started seeing each other casually after that but with NEWTS and graduation it wasn’t often enough.

His smile extended and he said, “Sort of. It’s just me and Lily here and Lily’s asleep.”

“So, can we go to your room?” she asked sexily getting even closer to him

He nodded then kissed her passionately and started backing them out of the living room.  They broke apart breathing heavily and he said huskily, “We have to be quiet.”

She mumbled a quick “ok” in between kisses and removing his clothes.

When they got to Al’s room, they closed the door and she cast a few privacy charms but he stopped her and said, “I need to be able to hear what’s going on outside my room, in case Lily needs something.”

She looked at him curiously but nodded then threw her wand down and stripped off her remaining clothes joining an already naked Al in bed. “How long do I get to have you for?”

“All night if you want,” he said before descending on her neck and breasts.

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer… Merlin’s pants Al, that feels amazing!” Replied Bridget breathing heavily

He smirked and continued exploring her body. In fact, they both spent the next several hours exploring each other and making up for lost time. They finally fell asleep exhausted in the middle of the night.

After a few hours of sleep Al woke up groggily and found that he still had a beautiful witch in his bed.  Deciding to make the best of the situation he started kissing her body and rubbing against her to wake her up. After a few minutes of this she moaned and turned her head slightly to nuzzle up against his face. He smiled and rolled her on her back then proceeded to lavish more attention on her to fully wake her.

Bridget was having the most pleasant dream when she roused from sleep by a very sexy and horny Al.  She smiled loving every minute she got to spend with him, especially if it involved sex.  She wasn’t a slag, far from it actually, but there was something about Al that made her weak in the knees.  She couldn’t say no to him if she tried and he knew it.  Suddenly she was wide-awake and moaning in pleasure with Al bringing her to an orgasm faster than ever.  She was so surprised by this that she wasn’t able to contain her scream.

When she fell back into bed beside him, he seemed just as surprised as her.  “I guess you like being woken up that way,” said Al chuckling softly

She laughed and buried her head in his neck nodding yes.  She then decided to repay him.  She pushed him on his back fully and straddled him, moaning at the feel of him.  She pulled him up so that they were both sitting up and she wrapped her legs behind him.  He had one arm around her and the other behind him holding them up and she had one arm around his neck and the other on his leg for leverage. They were so wrapped up in the moment that they didn’t hear anyone calling for Al.

Suddenly the door was opened to reveal a shocked Harry. He blinked a few times as if he was seeing things and said nothing.  Rose was walking to the room right behind Harry and asked, “Al, are you going to come to breakfast?”  When she got to Harry she saw the look on his face, which made her look into the room. “Oh my. Harry, why don’t you come back to breakfast?” Said Rose as she tugged Harry out of the room.  She shut the door saying, “Sorry, Al,” as she closed it.

As soon as the door was shut she pushed Harry against the wall and laughed heartily into his chest. He couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her and laugh as well.  He certainly hadn’t expected that when he went to get his son. Now that he was over the shock he thought he should have a little fun, so he went over to the closed door and said, “Al why don’t you and your guest come have breakfast…when you’re finished.”

“Harry!” shrieked Rose slapping his arm.

He smirked and said, “What?”

“You’re terrible!” replied Rose and they went back to the kitchen.

Back in Al’s room they were still in the same position in complete shock.  When the door shut Bridget said, “Tell me that didn’t just happen.”

“Um…it didn’t happen?” replied a very flustered Al

“Al!”

“What?”

“I can’t believe that just happened!”

“Me neither.”

“What are we going to do?” asked Bridget panicking

“I guess we should get dressed and go have breakfast before the rest of them come up here.” Replied Al resignedly

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” He said disentangling himself and getting up

“This is not exactly how I wanted to meet your family for the first time!” shrieked Bridget, panicking even more.

He pulled some pants on and turned to see her looking terrified.  He sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around her and said, “Hey, it’s OK. I promise they won’t bite.” Then he kissed her gently making her smile

She nodded, got up and started getting dressed…”Al, I can’t find my bra…”

He smirked and watched her look for it for several minutes before she turned and saw him watching her then she yelled, “AL! Help me find it!”

He chuckled and after several minutes of searching he found it behind his desk of all places.  He waited for her while she washed up a little in the bathroom and then they finally left the bedroom, both dreading breakfast.

When they got near the kitchen Bridget panicked and said, “Al, maybe I should just make a run for the floo.”

He laughed and said, “No, absolutely not.” Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen before she could protest. Upon entering the kitchen, James spoke up saying, “Hi Bridget, nice to see you again.”

She smiled at him gratefully as did Al.

Then Al said, “Everyone, this is my girlfriend Bridget. Bridget this is everyone.”

Bridget looked at him shocked, she had never heard him refer to her as his girlfriend and she couldn’t help but want to squeal in delight but Al was pointing to people and was expecting her to remember who they were.  She shook her head and followed him while he introduced her to his Dad, his cousin, his sister and his mother.  They all seemed as shocked as she was that she was here with him.  He must not have told them he was seeing someone.

He sat down next to his sister and put her between him and his brother, which she was quite thankful for until she looked up and saw his Dad sitting across from her.  Blushing more than she ever thought possible she tried to answer the questions they were asking her…

“How did you two meet?” asked Lily

“At a party.” They both replied together smiling

“How long have you been seeing each other?” asked Ginny

“A few months.” Replied Bridget but Al clarified saying, “A little over three months actually.”

She smiled at him and he squeezed her hand under the table

This seemed to make Ginny quite happy and she said, “Well, I’m glad we’re finally getting to meet you.  Tell me, do you go to Hogwarts?”

“No, I went to Beauxbatons… I just graduated.” Replied Bridget shyly

The next 10 minutes Bridget spent answering all of Lily and Rose’s questions about Beauxbatons.

“I’m curious Bridget, you’re quite beautiful and you remind me of my sister in law who is part Veela…I don’t meant to pry.” Said Ginny

Bridget smiled and said, “Thank you and I don’t mind you’re asking at all.  I do have distant relatives that are part Veela, but I don’t think I inherited anything more than the blond hair.”

“Really?  I didn’t know that.” Said Al

She nodded and he smiled then went back to eating.

James got up and said, “Well, I should head to practice… Lily, last chance to keep me home for the day.”

“No, James, go to work, I’m fine.  Besides, I won’t be here most of the day anyway.” Replied Lily rolling her eyes at him.

“Why not?  I thought you were supposed to rest?” asked James confused

“I have a follow up appointment with the healer and then I’m planning on spending the rest of the day at Scorpius’. I need a change of scenery.” replied Lily

“Alright, well, I guess I should get going. Good luck today.” Said James going over to her and kissing the top of her head.

She rolled her eyes at him again.

“What time is your appointment, pumpkin, so I can come?” asked Harry

“Dad!  You can’t come!” replied a horrified Lily

Confused he looked around to see Ginny shaking her head No at him, sighing he asked “Why not?”

“Because it’s private!” screeched Lily

He raised his hands in surrender and said, “Alright. I just want to make sure you’re fine.  I guess you can just tell me what the healer says then?”

“Sure.” Said a somewhat pacified Lily but she got up mumbling under her breath as she left the room, “Honestly, he wants to come with me.  Unbelievable.”

“What did I miss?” asked Harry still confused.

“Harry, she’s 16, she doesn’t want her Daddy with her while she’s talking to the healer about her menstrual cycle and sex.” Replied Ginny like she was talking to a toddler.

Harry blushed and said, “Oh. Yeah. Right.”

Rose giggled next to him while Al groaned.

Ginny smiled at Bridget who was trying her best not to laugh at the suddenly awkward situation.  She got up and said, “Harry, why don’t you and Al clean up while Rose and I get to know Bridget better.  We’ll be in the living room.”

Harry nodded and noticed that both Al and Bridget looked panicked.  He got up and started cleaning the table with Al. 

“I’m sorry about this morning, Al.  I should have knocked.” Said Harry

Al nodded and said, “It’s alright.  It’s the first time I’ve ever had anyone sleep over anyway, so there was never a need to knock.”

“Still, you deserve your privacy as much as the rest of us do.” Replied Harry then after another minute he said, “She seems nice. How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”

Al shrugged and said, “I don’t know. It wasn’t serious. We’ve been seeing each other for a few months but it wasn’t until this morning when she was so embarrassed and terrified of facing all of you that I realized how much I cared for her. I just wanted to make her feel better and I forgot about what I was feeling.”

Harry smiled and said, “That’s a good thing, Al. Now, I know we already had this talk but do I need to remind you about safe sex?”

Al groaned and said, “Dad!  It’s a little late now, don’t you think?”

Harry chuckled then asked seriously, “You were safe, weren’t you?”

Al blushed profusely but nodded yes.

Harry clapped him on the back and said, “Good. I’m too young to be a grandfather and far too good looking!”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that Dad,” said Al laughing as Harry left the kitchen.

………………………

That evening Harry stopped by after work to see how Lily’s visit with the healer went.  Everyone was sitting down eating when he got there…

“Hi Pumpkin, how was your check up today?” asked Harry walking over to her and kissing her forehead.

“It was fine Daddy.  The healer said I’m going to be fine and there shouldn’t be any permanent damage.” Replied Lily

“And…” said Ginny

Lily looked at her mother annoyed and replied, “and that’s it.”

“Lily, we talked about this.” Replied Ginny sternly

“No, you talked and I decided I don’t agree,” replied Lily angrily

“Lily, if you don’t tell him, I will!” yelled Ginny

“It’s none of his business! And it’s none of yours either!” yelled back Lily

Harry stood up and said, “everyone calm down. Boys do you know what they are arguing about?”

Both Al and James said “No.”

Harry sat back down and sighed saying, “Look, Lily, I can’t make you tell me whatever this is about but I would hope that you would know that you could trust me. “

Lily looked at her Dad for a minute then sighed and replied, “Dad, I know I can trust you.  It’s just personal and I wanted to keep it that way. If Mum wasn’t snooping in my room she wouldn’t know either.”  At this Lily threw an evil look at Ginny

Harry threw a surprised look at Ginny as well and she replied, “I was worried, Lily.  You told me we had to stop so you could pick up the potions the healer prescribed but you wouldn’t tell me what they were for.  I just wanted to make sure you were OK.”

“I’m fine, Mum.  I told you that, I don’t know why you didn’t just listen to me. I also don’t know why everything that has to do with me needs to be discussed amongst all of us. Have you never heard of privacy? Do you think I want to sit here and discuss this with my Dad or my brothers?” asked Lily angrily then she added, “Did you do this with your family?”

Ginny grimaced but didn’t reply.

Lily sighed and said, “It’s obvious that no matter what I want, you’re all going to find out anyway, so I mine as well tell you. When I was at the healer I told her that I wanted to make sure this didn’t happen again.  I have no interest in becoming a teenage mother. So I asked her to put me on birth control potions.”

Harry frowned and the boys made spluttering sounds, so Lily continued, “I had planned on sleeping with Scorpius, before this whole thing with Teddy happened.  I still plan on it and I don’t want to have to go through this again.”

“Lily, you were raped.  Surely, this is too soon to be thinking about having sex with someone.” Replied Harry concerned

“Dad, I wasn’t raped.  I don’t know how many times I have to say it!  Would I have had sex with Teddy if I were sober? No way.  But I wasn’t sober, I had too much to drink and Teddy took advantage of me.  That’s all it was.  There was no force used, no fighting, no screaming, no crying, no pain, nothing.  I just went farther than I would have gone if I were sober.  That’s my fault. I’ve dealt with it, I’ve dealt with the consequences of it, and I’m moving on.  Am I still bullshit at Teddy?  Yes.  But that doesn’t mean that I don’t still care about him.”  Lily took a deep breath and then continued, “I have a boyfriend that I love very much.  He has been patient and kind and caring and I would like to focus on that relationship from now on.”

“Lily, I’m not going to keep fighting with you over whether you were raped or not.  But whatever you call it, something happened that, at the very least, you wish didn’t happen.  As a result, you became pregnant, then decided to get an abortion and then ended up having a miscarriage.  I just think that you should give yourself some more time before you jump into having sex with Scorpius.” Said Harry gently

“I will give it time, Dad.  I just want to be prepared so when I’m ready it’s one less thing I will have to worry about.  OK?” asked Lily

Harry sighed and finally nodded in response

Al and James were just frowning

“Thank you for telling them Lily.  I know you didn’t want to but I think it will help you be more at peace in the long run, knowing you’re not hiding anything from your family.” Said Ginny

Lily just rolled her eyes at her mother and got up to go get her pain potions from the cabinet.  She took them and sat back down taking a drink of water, then said, “Dad, I need to go see Teddy.  I’ve asked Aunt Hermione to go with me, but I just wanted you to know. I have to put this behind me and part of that is talking with Teddy about what happened.  I would like it if you would talk with him as well. Just talking though. I’m sure he’s feeling horrible about the whole thing and you’re as much a father to him as you are to me.” She paused then said softly, “I don’t know what I would do if you walked away from me, Dad.”

“Lily, I would never walk away from you. You know that, right?” said Harry sincerely leaning across the table and grabbing her hand.

“I thought I did, Dad…but I don’t understand how you can walk away from Teddy?” said Lily confused

“How can you say that?  He raped you!” yelled Al

“Al, how many times do I have to repeat myself?” yelled back Lily

“You said NO!  That’s all that matters, Lily.  YOU. SAID. NO.” snapped James

“What if it was someone else?  What if it wasn’t me?  What if this happened with Teddy and some random witch? Would you still walk away from him? Would you?” asked Lily annoyed to all of them

After a minute of them all frowning she continued, “If Teddy came to you and told you that he thought he took advantage of a witch…that he had sex with her when she was drunk…. Would you turn him away? Of course you wouldn’t! You would talk to him and try and figure things out with him and give him advice on what to do! Stop putting all the blame on him for something that was my fault as well. I may have said No in the end, but I was the one who drank too much.  I was the one who put myself in that position.”

They all looked at her slightly shocked and she got up and left the room.  After a few minutes of silence, Harry got up and said, “I’m going home.  Let me know if she needs anything.  Otherwise, I’ll be by in the morning to check on her.”

Ginny said, “sure,” but remained seated as she was still absorbing all of what Lily had said. 

The boys nodded in response and Harry left.

He flooed home and just wanted to take a shower and go to bed.  He couldn’t think about any of this anymore but he also couldn’t stop thinking about it… He was positive his daughter was raped but she was so adamant that she wasn’t and when she talked about it she almost convinced him. 

The whole Teddy thing was already making him sick. He couldn’t believe how he treated him and she was right, if it were anyone other than Lily, he would have talked with Teddy about what happened.  It was obvious from looking around Teddy’s house that he wasn’t taking care of himself.  That he was drowning his guilt in alcohol.  But didn’t that mean that he did rape her, if he was feeling guilty?  He supposed that if what Lily said was true and Teddy did ‘just’ take advantage of her that Teddy would feel guilty for that as well.  What the hell was he supposed to do?  Was it his fault because he had never told Teddy to stay away from Lily? Should he have said, ‘I know you’re not related technically, but I think you’re siblings so don’t touch each other.’  How ridiculous is that? 

And really how very hypocritical of him, what with him being in a relationship with his ex-wife’s niece … Harry shook his head trying to make himself stop thinking about this as he stepped in the shower.

When he finished he decided to head straight to bed and took a dreamless sleeping potion so he would get a good nights sleep. He briefly thought about calling Rose but was so tired that he fell asleep quickly.

He slept through the night without any problems and stopped in to see Lily on his way to work.  He only stayed a few minutes as she was fine and then went to work. His day was filled with finalizing the details of the 28 Auror trainees that they were allowed, thanks to Kingsley.  The Ministry letters would go out next week, letting everyone know what training program they had been accepted into.  He finished his day and stopped by to see Lily again.  Again, she was fine, so he only stayed a few minutes before heading home. 

It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he hadn’t heard from Rose once since breakfast yesterday.  Worried, he called her but she didn’t answer.  Deciding that it had been a while since he stopped in on Ron and Hermione, he flooed to their house to see if she was home. When he got there, the house was very quiet making him worry more.  Hermione heard the floo activate and came in to the dark living room to find Harry.

“Hi Harry.” Said Hermione

“Hey.  Is everything OK?” asked Harry concerned

Hermione frowned and said, “Yes, why wouldn’t it be?”

Before Harry could reply Ron came in and said, “Hey Harry, What’s up?”

Harry looked back and forth between the two and said, “Nothing.  Just wanted to drop by and say Hello.  Haven’t gotten to see you much the last few days.”

Hermione eyed him suspiciously but didn’t say anything. They all made their way to the kitchen and Hermione made them tea.  Harry noticed that all the rooms were dark on the way and asked, “Why are all the lights off?  Were you going to sleep already?”

Ron shook his head no and replied, “No, Rose hasn’t been feeling well and she’s asleep.  Hermione here thinks that somehow the lights in the rest of the house will wake her.”

Hermione wacked the back of his head for saying that, while Harry asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

“Don’t know.  She must be coming down with something because she looks terrible, plus she’s exhausted.” Replied Ron

“She doesn’t have a fever and she’s not throwing up or anything.  I just think she’s been working herself too hard for the audition.  She probably just needed to catch up on some sleep.” Replied Hermione

Harry was frowning and thinking about how he could go see Rose when Hugo started calling for Ron.  Ron excused himself and as soon as he was out the door, Harry said, “Hermione, can I go see her?”

Hermione frowned and said, “Harry.  I don’t think that’s a good idea with Ron home.”

“Would you tell her I’m here then?” asked Harry

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and said, “Harry, I’m not waking her up, she’s sleeping.  She’s tired, she obviously needs to sleep.”

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair and said, “I know.  I’m just worried about her.  I’ve been so wrapped up in everything with Lily that I haven’t had a chance to talk with her today and now you’re telling me she’s not feeling well…I’m just worried.”

Hermione smiled gently and said, “Harry, she’s fine. She’s just tired. I promise when she wakes up I’ll tell her you were here asking for her, OK?”

Harry nodded reluctantly, he wanted nothing more than to go see Rose, but he wasn’t go to push his luck with Hermione and Ron. “When is the audition?” Asked Harry

“This Friday.  So she only has a couple more days of this, then hopefully it will be over.  I know it’s horrible but I don’t think it would be such a bad thing if she didn’t make it. The schedule is grueling and I worry about how hard it will be on her.” Replied Hermione

Harry frowned and said, “I knew she was practicing everyday, I guess I didn’t realize how hard it was on her…Plus she’s been spending all that time with Lily.”

Hermione nodded and said, “Yeah, I guess it just all caught up with her.”

Harry got up and said, “Well, I guess I’ll head home. I’ll be up for a while so let me know if she needs anything, OK?”

Hermione smiled and got up to give him a hug and said, “Don’t worry so much, Harry.”

He said goodbye to Ron and Hugo before flooing home. He spent hours waiting up for Rose watching TV.  But finally he went to sleep hoping that she was all right.  He didn’t sleep well and in the morning he called her again, hoping that she answered…

“Hi Harry.” Said Rose answering the phone

“Rose, are you alright?  I was so worried about you.” Said Harry

“Yeah, I’m OK.  Sorry, I didn’t call you last night.  I slept through until just an hour ago. I saw a note from my mum that you stopped by but I figured you would still be sleeping so I was waiting a little longer to call you.  How are you?” asked Rose

“I’m fine.  I miss you.” Replied Harry

“I miss you too, Harry.” Replied Rose

“Are you sure you’re feeling OK?  Your Dad said you looked like you were coming down with something.”

“Yeah, I’m just tired.  I think all this practicing for the audition is starting to get to me.  I’m only going to go in for a few hours today and tomorrow though.  I don’t want to burn out before Friday.  Do you want to do something tonight?” asked Rose

“I’d love to…how about we get take out and just watch a movie, so you can catch up on that rest you need?” replied Harry

“On one condition.” Replied Rose

“What’s that?” asked Harry amused

“We watch the movie in bed.” Replied Rose smirking

“You need your rest, you little minx.” Said Harry laughing

“What I need is to spend some quality time with my boyfriend and then we can rest together.” Countered Rose

“If you’re good, maybe that can be arranged.” Replied Harry

“Tease.”

Harry laughed then said, “Let’s meet here at 5 and I’ll pick up the food on the way home.  Do you have any preference?”

“How about Chinese food?  I’ve been dying for Chinese for some reason.” Replied Rose

“Chinese it is then.  I’ll see you tonight, love and don’t overdo it today, OK?” replied Harry

“I won’t, love.  I’ll see you at 5.” Said Rose hanging up the phone.

Harry spent the day at work figuring out the details of his retirement and how he was going to transition the Auror department. They finally decided that a slow transition would be best and that a new position would be created under Harry and he would then train them.  Kingsley wanted it to be over a period of a year but Harry was reluctant to commit to that length of time so they left it undefined for now. He left work a little early, picked up the Chinese food and headed home to see Rose.

She was waiting for him when he got there and he was happy to receive a proper kiss as Hello.  She broke away after a minute and said, “I’m famished…Did you get the food?”

Harry chuckled and said, “Yeah, let’s eat. I’m pretty hungry too.”

As he set up the food he was happy to see that Rose was in very comfy clothes…she had black lounge pants on with a pink long sleeve t-shirt that was very big on her, but the cutest thing to him was that she was barefoot and her pants were so long that you could only see a few toes painted pink.  It was adorable and he just wanted to scoop her up and smother her in kisses.  He smiled at her and she asked, “What?”

“You look adorable.” Replied Harry

She smiled at him and leaned over to give him a quick kiss, then sat down and started putting food on her plate, so he did the same. They talked about their day over dinner and then headed upstairs to watch a movie in Harry’s room.

“What do you want to watch?” asked Harry

“It doesn’t matter to me, love, but you should probably pick something you like since I will most likely fall asleep before it’s over.” Replied Harry

Harry chuckled and said OK, then grabbed a movie that he had wanted to watch for a few weeks now and put it on.  He turned around to see that Rose was already in bed waiting for him and he smiled then joined her.

“I hate when they make you watch the previews…look, it won’t let me fast forward past them!” said Harry annoyed

Rose smiled mischievously at him and asked, “How long do the previews usually last?”

Harry was still trying to get the movie to fast forward on the remote and replied “They usually take over 20 minutes!”

“Really.  Well Mr. Potter, I can think of something to pass the next 20 minutes…how about you?” said Rose sexily

Harry stopped fumbling with the remote and tossed it to the side, grinning widely before descending on Rose’s lips. Harry’s last coherent thought was, “Maybe previews weren’t such a bad thing after all.” As Harry was kissing his way down Rose’s body he couldn’t help but notice her breast seemed a little fuller than before.  He took his time caressing them and kissing them which Rose seemed to be enjoying immensely and when he started to move down she begged him, “No, Harry, go back. That felt amazing!” Smirking he went back to her breasts until she was writhing under him and practically screamed, “Harry, please, I need you!”  Needless to say Harry was happy to oblige.  She gasped as he entered her, making him stop and look down at her concerned asking, “Did I hurt you, love?”

Rose shook her head and replied breathlessly, “No…I guess I’m just really sensitive today…be gentle, love.”

Harry kissed her passionately and started moving ever so slowly in and out of her while caressing her face and body with his hands. Then he propped himself up a little and started kissing her breasts again, making her scream.  It only took a few minutes of this combination for Rose to finish and Harry was so enthralled with watching her that he could barely hold on and he finished quickly after her.  When he rolled to the side off of her, he pulled her close and panted, “Rose, I can’t believe how sexy that was.”

She giggled and buried her face in the crook of his neck and said, “That felt amazing.”

“Yeah, it did…Why do you think you were so sensitive today?” asked Harry curiously

“No idea, but I certainly enjoyed it.” Replied Rose smiling

“Maybe it has something to do with your cycle…are you due for your period soon?” asked Harry blushing somewhat

Rose chewed her lip but didn’t reply

“Rose?”

She sighed and said, “I’m late.”

Harry rolled over so that he was facing Rose and brushed some hair out of her face, then pulled up her chin so that she was looking in his eyes and asked, “How late?”

She bit her lip again then said, “Not too late…”

“Rose.” Said Harry not liking that response

“A few days…”

“Rose.” Said Harry annoyed again

“Fine…. 10 days.” Replied Rose quietly

Harry kissed her softly then said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, with everything that happened with Lily, I didn’t realize I was late.  Then I’ve been practicing so much that it wasn’t until this morning that I noticed the date.  I went back and looked at my calendar to see when I usually get it and it’s always been every 28 days. So I honestly just realized I was late this morning.” Replied Rose biting her lips again nervously.

“Do you think you’re pregnant?” asked Harry hesitantly

“Seems pretty likely.” Replied Rose quietly

“Do you want to take a test?” asked Harry

Rose shook her head no and said, “No, not yet. I want to get through my audition Friday and then I find out next week whether I made it into the unspeakable program.  I’ll take a test after that if I still haven’t gotten my period.”

Harry pulled Rose closer to him and placed his hand over her belly, then kissed her softly.  When he broke the kiss he said, “Whatever you want love, but we should probably tell everyone about us before we find out if you’re pregnant.”

Rose nodded in response and Harry continued, “We should tell our immediate family first, maybe next Saturday, then we can tell everyone else at Sunday dinner at Molly’s.  How does that sound, love?”

“That sounds fine, love.  Are you nervous about telling everyone?” asked Rose

“Only about telling Ron…he’s my best mate, and he’s going to be furious with me.  I just hope he forgives me over time.” Replied Harry then he asked, “Are you nervous?”

“Yeah, especially about Lily…. What if she hates me?” asked Rose tentatively

Harry kissed her forehead and said, “She won’t hate you. She’s probably going to hate me though…”

“Are you sure you want to risk everything for just me?” asked Rose guiltily

“Just you?  Rose, I have never been this happy in my entire life. Even if everyone is furious with us, I will still be happy as long as I have you.  You are stuck with me, Miss Weasley. Are you sure you want to risk everything for just me?” replied Harry placing a kiss on her nose.

Rose chuckled and kissed him tenderly then said, “Yes, I’m sure.  I would happily spend forever with you Mr. Potter.  You are stuck with me.”

They kissed for a few minutes and then Rose pulled away and said, “Well, now that that’s settled, would you please press play on this movie, because the menu music is driving me nuts.  I think we’ve heard this song 50 times!”

Harry laughed and looked around for the remote for a few minutes before finally finding it under the bed.  He pressed play and they started watching the movie with Rose’s head on Harry’s chest.  He was playing with her hair and rubbing her back, while she was drawing circles on his abdomen with her fingers.  After a few minutes she stopped doing this and he looked down to see that she was asleep.  He kissed the top of her head and smiled, thinking again how unbelievably happy he was with this witch.

……………….

The next few days went by quickly for Harry. Lily became increasingly annoyed every time Harry stopped in to check on her, finally yelling at him that she was fine and go back to normal and leave her be.  She refused to tell him what happened when she talked with Teddy, saying only that Hermione had gone with her and her and Teddy had figured everything out.  Hermione also wasn’t telling him what happened, which was frustrating because he knew he wouldn’t be able to intimidate either witch and once they made up their mind not to tell him something there was nothing he could do about it.  He still wasn’t prepared to talk to Teddy himself and wasn’t sure if he ever would be able to. 

He hadn’t seen Rose since the other night because she had been going home to rest after rehearsing for her audition. He was looking forward to it being over so he could see her more, which he felt slightly guilty about. But today was finally Friday and he was going to leave work early to try and catch some of the audition and support Rose. 

He went into work and told Christina he had to leave early and to make sure he did.  She smiled and gave him the schedule of interviews for the day, which thankfully ended at 2pm.  He was surprised at how many people had applied for the new position and spent the day interviewing them with Kingsley.  Once they narrowed the applicants down to two or three then they would interview them again, but with Hermione included as well.  Kingsley still hadn’t told her that he wanted her to take over for him and Harry couldn’t wait. Finally at 2:30PM Christina came in Harry’s office and practically threw him out.  He laughed and thanked her and proceeded to the dance company that was located in downtown London. 

He called Hermione when he got there, because there were hundreds of people and he had no idea where to go.  Hermione answered the phone…

“Harry, are you here?”

“Yeah, but there are people everywhere and this place is massive.  Where are you guys?” asked Harry practically yelling to be heard over the noise

“Wait, can you do me a favor and go back outside. There’s a small smoothie place nearby and Rose hasn’t eaten anything all day.  I keep telling her she needs to eat but she’s not listening to me. Can you pick her something up…something light, maybe a smoothie and a croissant?” asked Hermione

Harry frowned that Rose hadn’t eaten yet and turned around to head back outside saying, “Yeah, I’ll go now.  Meet me in the lobby in 10 minutes, OK?”

“Thanks, Harry.  See you in a few minutes.” Replied Hermione hanging up. She turned to Al, James, Hugo, Lily and Scorpius and said, “Harry’s here.  I’m just going to go meet him in the lobby.  I’ll be back in 15 minutes.”  They were all in a group on one side of a large room where Rose was stretching and rehearsing for her next audition in ballet. It was the last one before they determined who was able to audition for the all around dance group that she really wanted to get a spot on.

Once Hermione had left, Lily turned to them and said, “That’s nice of Dad to come.  I’m sure he’s busy at work and it must have been hard for him to leave early.”

Scorpius looked to Al curiously but neither said anything.  James spoke up and said, “Aunt Hermione probably threatened to hex him if he didn’t come.”

Lily and Hugo laughed at that until Hugo saw something he didn’t like…

“What the hell is that guy doing to my sister?” he said outraged pointing towards Rose

They all looked to see Rose lying on the floor with one leg down and the other one being stretched by a man.  But he was lying on top of her and pushing on her leg to stretch it.  It was quite an intimate position and the boys were all getting quite angry. Lily laughed and said, “He’s just helping her stretch.  Honestly, look around you, all the girls have someone helping them stretch.”

The boys took a minute to look around and confirmed that Lily was right; everyone had a partner that was helping them stretch their legs.  It was very sexy to see the other girls but not so much with Rosie since they were overprotective of her.

Finally Hugo said, “It’s a good thing Dad had to go to work, he would have lost his shit if he saw this.”

Everyone nodded but Al frowned and said, “I’m not so sure my Dad is going to be any better.  Do you think she’s almost done?”

Lily looked at the time and said, “She still has a half hour until the next audition starts so probably not.”  Noticing Al’s frown increase she continued, “Honestly Al, what do you think Dad is going to do, go over there and yell at the guy helping Rose stretch?”

“It’s what we all wanted to do, Lils.” Replied James then he asked, “Do you see any girls that still need help stretching?”

Hugo and Scorpius laughed while Lily smacked James on the arm.  James smiled broadly and enjoyed watching all the girls stretch but Al was too preoccupied to notice. After another 5 minutes of this Rose finally got up and started practicing.  Relieved Al looked away and started listening to James talk about which girls he thought were hot.  Another 5 minutes went by before Lily spotted Hermione and his Dad. Al looked to Rose to see her pointing to one of her legs and obviously complaining about something. He turned his attention back to his Dad who had just walked over to them.

“Hello everyone.  It was nice of you to come support Rose.  How’s she doing?” asked Harry putting down a smoothie and a bakery bag. 

Lily started to reply but was cut off suddenly when Harry started walking away.  Confused they all looked to where he was walking to see Rose on the floor in the same position as before getting help stretching one of her legs. Al groaned and Hermione said, “Shit!” before quickly trying to catch up to him.

“Told you.” Said Al

Lily looked shocked at what was happening and James and Hugo were smiling.  Scorpius was looking between Al and what was unfolding.

Harry quickly made his way to Rose and she smiled broadly when she saw him even though he looked murderous.

“Hi, Love.” Said Rose

He looked at her strangely then said, “May I ask what you are doing?”

“Oh, Michael was just helping me stretch this leg. It’s not loose enough.” Replied Rose straight faced

Hermione had stopped a little bit away from the group to see how it played out, seeing as Harry didn’t immediately attack Michael.

Harry’s face was getting quite red and the vein in his neck was pulsing rapidly.  He had his fists clenched and said, “Michael, is it?”

Michael turned and looked up at Harry, once he saw how obviously angry Harry was he said excitedly, “Oh, this must be Harry!”

Harry nodded and looked at Michael fiercely in response

Michael laughed and said, “Perhaps I should get up. Rose, are you good with this leg?”

“Yes, I think it should be good now. Thanks, Michael.” Replied Rose

Michael got up as did Rose.  She immediately hugged Harry and whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry, Love.  He’s no competition for you.”

Harry smiled a little and turned back to Michael who had his hand extended out to Harry, waiting for him to shake it.

“It’s great to finally meet you.  You’re all Rose talks about!” beamed Michael

Harry looked curiously to Rose while shaking his hand. “Yes, well, she talks a lot about you as well, although Rose, I don’t remember you mentioning that you needed his help stretching.” Replied Harry still annoyed.

Rose blushed slightly but Michael laughed heartily and responded, “Oh, how adorable jealousy is on you.  She’s right you are quite the catch. Don’t worry about me though, Rose may be a doll but she doesn’t have the right equipment for me, if you know what I mean,” said Michael winking at Harry.  He then walked past Harry to go but as he went he gave Harry’s ass a squeeze.

Harry spun around quickly but Rose held his arm and her giggling brought his gaze back to her.  “He just grabbed my ass!” said Harry shocked.

She giggled some more and nodded in response, then said, “I told you he would like you.”

Hermione had to turn around and walk back to the group she was laughing so hard, and she didn’t want Harry to see her. The kids were all laughing as well.

After Harry had recovered from the shock he said, “I brought you something but I left it over with everyone when I saw you ‘stretching’ as you say.”

She giggled and they walked over to the group. Harry groaned as he realized they were all laughing and had probably seen everything.

“You showed him, huh Dad!” said James clutching his stomach

“Very funny” replied Harry

“Dad, do you want me to help break the news to Mum?” said Lily giggling

“Ha Ha Ha.” Replied Harry then he narrowed his eyes and pointed at Hermione and said, “And you!  You’re supposed to have my back! What happened to ‘we’re in this together’?”

Hermione laughed then said, “Sorry, Harry, I clearly underestimated the threat to your ass!”

Harry huffed indignantly and crossed his arms while everyone else was hysterically laughing.  “I’m glad you all find this so funny.”  After several minutes Harry started to smirk as well. He grabbed the smoothie and handed it to Rose, who tried to refuse it.  He simply gave her a look and she obediently took the smoothie and started drinking it.  He then broke off a piece of the croissant and handed it to her.  Again, she tried to refuse and again, Harry gave her a warning look and she ate it.  Hermione smiled happily, knowing that Rose wouldn’t refuse eating for Harry.  She ended up eating half the croissant and drinking the whole smoothie before Harry relented. After a few minutes of Rose filling him in on where she was in the process, Michael came back…

“Sorry, I have to steal your girl back, we have to go to the audition stage now.” He said winking at Harry

Harry clenched his jaw but nodded and everyone wished Rose luck and then they found their way to the audition room, and waited for everything to start.  They sat in bleacher type seating and Harry was sitting between Scorpius and Hermione. Next to Scorpius was Lily and next to her were James, Al and Hugo.  He turned to Hermione and asked, “Where’s Ron?”

“Oh he was here earlier, he had to leave at noon though to go to work.  Ginny was here with him as well.” Replied Hermione

“Ginny was here too?” asked Harry surprised

“Yeah.  She didn’t say much to me.  I think she’s still angry about the other day.” Replied Hermione

“Well, she has no reason to be.  You’re the one that should be pissed at her. I can’t believe she threw that vase at you while you had your back turned.” Replied Harry

Hermione shrugged and said, “She’ll get over it eventually and I am still slightly pissed of at her as well.”

They were silent for a few minutes just watching everything then Hermione said, “You surprised me earlier, with Michael. I expected you to lose it on him.”

Harry laughed then said, “It’s not like I’ve never had someone grab my ass, Mione.”

She laughed and said, “Yes, I’m sure, but I wasn’t talking about that.”

He frowned a little then said, “One of you could have given me a heads up about the ‘stretching’.”

Hermione smiled and replied, “I didn’t even think of it, Harry.  You’ll have to take that up with Rose.”

Harry nodded then looked at her and said seriously, “We’re going to tell everyone next weekend.”

“Really?” asked Hermione surprised.

Harry just nodded in response and Hermione continued to look at him for a few minutes before turning back to watch what was happening on the dance floor. 

Rose waved to them as she entered the room and took the spot where she was instructed to go.  There were over 100 girls on the floor auditioning. They put some music on and then this one woman started telling them what position to take and what move to do next.  There were several people walking around watching the girls and when they tapped on their shoulder the girls were to leave the floor.  This continued for at least a half hour and Rose had made it through so far. 

At this point a man came into the room and looked around.  He then looked at a clipboard and walked around looking at the girls, stopping occasionally. He stopped at Rose and watched her for several minutes.  Then he touched her, just enough to make Harry clench his jaw.  He had pulled her chin up and pushed her shoulders back, then said something to her and Rose did the move again to his satisfaction, as he nodded and walked away.  When he was gone, Hermione said, “Harry that’s normal, he was just correcting her posture.”

Harry nodded once but his jaw was still clenched.

Scorpius had felt Harry tense up and had looked briefly to see that his fists were clenched when the man touched Rose. He was getting a feeling that there was something going on with them but Al refused to talk about it with him when he brought the subject up.  Perhaps Al was in denial.

After another 15 minutes of this they shut the music off and told the girls that they had seen enough.  They then gave the girls information on when they would hear if they were successful. 

The man then came forward and told all those that were auditioning for the all around dance group should stay here and they would begin those auditions in 20 minutes.

Rose grabbed her water and then made her way over to everyone.

They all stood and gave her hugs, telling her how good she did.  When she got to Harry, he hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, “You were amazing, love.”

She beamed at him in response and reluctantly pulled away.

“Do you want the rest of your croissant?” asked Harry

She shook her head no and said, “No, I’m too nervous to eat right now.”

Harry frowned and said, “Fine, but we’re getting dinner as soon as this is over.”

She smiled in response and the others started talking about where they should go eat, not realizing that Harry was only talking to Rose.  Oh well, just a few more days and then they would all know.

“So, Mum, how did I look?” asked Rose

“You looked beautiful, Rose.” Replied Hermione proudly

Rose rolled her eyes and said, “Mum, seriously, how did I look in comparison to the others?”

“What others?” said Harry jokingly?

She wacked him on the shoulder and laughed then looked back at her Mum seriously waiting for an answer…

“You looked good Rose and you were much better than most of them.” Replied Hermione seriously

“Thanks.  I thought I was done for when the owner corrected me…I was sure he was going to send me off the floor, but he didn’t.” replied Rose

“That was the owner?  Why did he have to touch you to correct you anyway?” asked Hugo annoyed

“Yeah, he owns the dance company. He’s also in charge of the group I’m trying out for next.  It’s easier to show a dancer what you want then to tell her. If he had just told me to fix my posture it might not have been what he wanted, but by physically pushing me into the position he wanted, it was very clear.  It’s just how it’s done.  I’m used to it.” Replied Rose

“Well, it’s a good thing Dad didn’t stay all day, I doubt he would think it’s no big deal…especially with the stretching.” Said Hugo

Rose giggled then said, “I really shouldn’t stay still for too long, this way my muscles won’t cramp.  Does anyone want to walk around with me?”

“Oh, I will, if you promise to introduce me to some of your dancer friends.” Said James smirking.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Fine.”

Hugo and Al jumped in on the walk as well and Lily and Scorpius went for their own walk leaving Harry and Hermione. They decided to go grab something for the vending machine to hold off their hunger.

“Any ideas on where should we go eat after?” asked Harry

Hermione shook her head no and said, “Let’s let Rose decide, it’s her day after all.”

“Sounds good to me.” Said Harry then he asked, “How long do you think this audition will last?”

“I’m not sure.  If they test them again on each type of dance it’s going to be pretty long, but they have all those scores so my guess is it will be on something different than what they’ve already done today.  It will depend on how many people there are trying out as well.” Replied Hermione

They then both looked over at the doorway where a large number of men were entering in dancer attire.  Harry frowned and said, “Is this a co-ed dance company?”

Hermione hesitated and said, “I don’t know… it sure looks like they are here to audition.”

There weren’t nearly as many men as there were women, just 50 or so of them but Harry wasn’t sure he could handle watching any of them touch Rose. 

Just then Rose came back with everyone looking worried and said, “I wonder why they have all the male dancers here?”

“We were wondering the same thing. Is it a co-ed group?” asked Hermione

“I think they usually have about 10 male dancers in the group but they don’t usually have them audition at the same time as the girls.” Replied Rose

Michael came over and took Rose with him, talking a mile a minute about pairs and jumps and what not that Harry didn’t understand. She threw him a smile over her shoulder as she walked away and they all took their seats and waited. Finally after it appeared the room couldn’t hold anymore people, the man from earlier stepped out and began talking into a microphone

“Thank you everyone for coming.  My name is Robert and I am the owner of the Dance Company as well as the coach for this group.  There are over 200 of you in here so I’m going to be quick so that we can get started. We are looking for 10 male dancers and 30 female dancers and we have already seen all of you do tap, jazz, point, and ballet. What we would like to see now is how you work in pairs.  This year we will be adding some swing dancing to our shows and I want to see how you fair with that.  If any of you know that this is something you do not want to do, you may go now. Kathleen is at the door and will take your number and note that you are no longer interested in this particular group.”

There was a pause for a few minutes while some people gathered their things and left. 

“Now, as for the rest of you we will ask you to perform three basic lifts used in pair dancing.  Once that is complete we will show you some basic swing dancing and ask you to perform a small routine.  If I could have all the men on the right side and all the ladies on the left side, each side forming three lines and facing the other, we will begin.”

The dancers spent several minutes scrambling to get into the correct lines.

“Now, since there is roughly three times the amount of ladies here as there are men, each male dancer will perform three lifts before moving to the next line.  Ladies, after you have performed your first lift, you will move to the next line to do the second lift and so on until you have all completed each lift. Any questions?”

There was complete silence which surprised Harry because he was having a hard time figuring out what was going on, but when he searched for Rose he saw that she was smiling at him, so he figured she knew what was going on.

He sat back and watched as the girls did lift after lift.  Some of the male dancers were unable to do the lifts correctly and would drop the girls. One of the judges would then write down their number and ask them to sit.  Harry seriously hoped that this didn’t happen to Rose, he would be tempted to go yell at the poor kid that dropped her.  But her first lift went great and she moved on to the next line.  When the lifts were finished the numbers had been cut in half. 

“Everyone that was told to sit during the lifts may now leave.  Kathleen will get your number at the door.  Thank you.”

The dancers who were sitting noisily made their exit and Harry could see many girls crying.  He felt bad for them and was so proud of Rose for making it this far.  He caught her gaze again and she gave him the thumbs up making him laugh.

“Alright, everyone.  I’m going to ask you to all put your tap shoes on for this. When you are done come back and form the lines just as you did before.”

The dancers scattered and Rose ran over to them to get her bag with her tap shoes.  She smiled at them as Hermione helped her change her shoes and left quickly with them all saying “Good luck” to her.

The owner then called two of the judge’s forward and asked them to show everyone the short routine they were going to learn. He turned on some music and the pair danced the swing routine.  Harry was slightly shocked.  The guy was basically throwing around the girl dancer, and it looked like there was a lot of opportunity for Rose to get hurt.  There was also this part where Rose had to wrap her legs around the guy’s waist and hang upside down.  He wasn’t that comfortable with any of it really.  He started squirming in his seat and Hermione patted his hand knowingly, trying to calm him down.  He continued to watch in horror as several of the girls were dropped.  Fortunately this didn’t seem to be held against the girls as the guy numbers dwindled faster than the girls.  It looked like they were trying to find the strongest men first.  Once they had settled on about 15 guys, they had the girls go again and then they started weaning the girls down.  Rose had made it through everything so far.  Only being dropped her first time with a guy that was subsequently cut.  When they had gone through everyone again, they were left with about 50 girls.  The owner then instructed them to break out into 5 lines and have 5 pairs go at the same time to the music.  They did this and he slowly narrowed the group down. After another hour he was still looking at 40 girls plus the 15 guys. 

Harry looked at the time as his stomach was growling in hunger and was stunned to see that it was almost 8PM. 

The owner took a minute to discuss something with his staff and after a few minutes they came to a decision and he turned back to the group and said, “You’ve all done wonderfully, so much so that we can’t decide at this time.  I would like the remaining dancers to come here Monday morning at 8AM.  We will teach you the full routine and give you the week to practice it.  Next Friday we will have a dress rehearsal and determine which of you will make the final group.  Please stay where you are until Kathleen has collected some information from you and written your number down. Thank you.”

Rose turned quickly to smile at them and they all smiled happily back to her to show their support.

They stood up and stretched while they waited for her

“Wow.  That was so long!  I’m starving!” said Hugo

James and Al nodded in agreement which made Lily whack them in the shoulders saying, “If you’re hungry, think about poor Rose. All she had was a smoothie and a half a croissant today!”

“Is everyone up for going out to dinner?” asked Harry

They all replied some form of yes and started to walk toward where Rose was standing.  When she finally finished giving her information she practically ran over to them and was crushed in a hug by Hermione who was telling her over and over again how proud she was of her.  Rose smiled and said, “Thanks,” and then proceeded to hug everyone else thanking them for staying.

“What would you like to eat for dinner, Rose?” asked Harry

“Chinese!” replied Rose quickly

“Again?” asked Harry before he could stop himself

She looked at him surprised for a minute then said, “Yes, even though I told you I had it the other night, I would still like to have it again.”

Harry just nodded feeling stupid for what he had done before Hermione spoke up and said, “There’s a Chinese place right down the street. I saw it when I was looking for a parking space this morning.”

The kids all nodded and Rose just said she had to change quickly so they all walked to the locker room with her and waited outside for her, well except Lily and Hermione who went in with her.

While they were waiting Al spoke up and said, “I didn’t realize Rose liked Chinese food so much as to have it twice in one week.”

“Me neither.” Replied Harry

“It’s weird, because she didn’t use to like it. She would always complain when Mum would bring it home.” Said Hugo

“That’s strange,” replied Al looking at Harry curiously

Harry just looked away

“She did great today, huh?” said James

“You sound surprised James,” said Scorpius

“I am.  I mean I knew she was into dancing, I guess I just didn’t realize she was that good.  I thought I was going to punch that idiot that dropped her though.” Replied James

They all nodded in agreement until Harry spoke up saying, “Hugo, why don’t you call your Dad and see if he wants to meet us at the restaurant?”

“Ok, Uncle Harry.  Do you want to see if Aunt Ginny wants to come as well?” asked Hugo innocently

Harry cringed and said, “I don’t know if things are OK with her and your Mum yet, Hugo.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.  It was weird this morning when they were both here.” Replied Hugo then he went to go call Ron.

“What the hell were they even fighting about anyway?” asked Harry out loud to himself, while banging his head against the wall, forgetting there were others with him

“You.” Replied Al

Harry startled and looked towards Al and said, “What?”

“You asked what they were fighting about, they were fighting about you and how much time you spent with Aunt Hermione alone when Uncle Ron left you.”

Harry frowned but didn’t respond

“Dad?” asked James

“Yeah?”

“All that time, nothing ever happened with Aunt Hermione?  I mean she’s quite beautiful and you were all alone, trying to stay alive…didn’t it ever cross your mind?” asked James hesitantly

Harry looked at James then at the others who were waiting for his response.  He sighed and said, “It’s impossible for you to understand because you’ve lived normal lives, had normal childhoods and are learning about girls like you should, but it was completely different for us.  We spent our entire time at Hogwarts trying to stay alive. Hermione was all that I had; she was my rock.  Just as I imagine I was for her.  There were certainly moments when we were both lonely but we were in love with Ron and Ginny. There were times after Ron left us that we both wanted to give up…especially after Godric’s Hallow, but we were both too brave for our own good.  We knew we needed to continue until Voldermort was gone.  It wasn’t too much longer after that that Ron came back.”

“Why did he leave you?” asked Al

Harry ran his hands through his hair and said, “It’s complicated.  I guess he felt left out, he was jealous of how close Hermione and I were.  He mistook it to mean something else and one day it was just too much for him.  We all had to take turns wearing the locket, which was one of the horcruxes, and it was his turn that day.  Hermione was cutting my hair when she suddenly figured something out and in our excitement Ron finally lost it.  A few nights before he had seen Hermione and I walking back to the tent after we saw some snatchers and he heard a comment I made about her perfume and misunderstood it.  That combined with the horcrux and her cutting my hair just sent him over the edge.”

“What did you say about her perfume?” asked Hugo

Harry grinned and said, “I said, ‘as much as I like your perfume, Hermione, next time just don’t wear any.’”

“That does sound pretty incriminating, Dad,” said James

Harry sighed then clarified, “Hermione was brilliant and she would cast all these protective enchantments so that we wouldn’t be seen, heard, or found, but that night she heard something on her watch so she went to investigate.  She walked to the edge of the enchantments when she saw the group of snatchers and stopped. I was walking toward her, so I saw the snatchers as well, and I was worried about her.  It turns out the snatcher could smell her perfume. He stopped right in front of Hermione and smelled her for several minutes before one of his buddies started griping about how heavy his catch was.  When I got to Hermione she was terrified, she kept saying he could smell her.  I was just trying to tell her to stop wearing perfume because of that when Ron overheard us. Hermione tried to explain it to him the night he left, but he wouldn’t listen; and then he said some horrible things to me and I told him to leave.”

“So my Dad left because he thought that you and my Mum were together?” asked Hugo

“Yeah, among other things.” Replied Harry  

“Will you show us some day, Dad?  Show us some of your memories?” asked Al

Harry looked quizzically at Al so Al continued, “I think it would help us understand you better, if we understood what you had to go through to get to here.  What all of you went through.”

“I’d have to talk to Hermione and Ron about it first but I guess I could show you some of my memories.  I’ve never really thought about doing that…” said Harry pensively

“We’d like to see them Dad.” Said James

“I would too,” replied Lily from behind him and he turned to see Rose, Lily and Hermione smiling at him.  Hermione nodded and said, “I guess we could put something together for all the kids to see.  I think it’s important for them to know what we sacrificed to get to where we are now.”

Harry nodded and then Hugo said, “I’m starving, can we go eat now?”

They all laughed and he said, “Dad’s meeting us there.”

Rose smiled at Harry in response and they all walked over to the restaurant talking happily about Rose’s day.

The restaurant was packed as well as the bar area with many people Rose knew.  As they entered she said Hello to them and James insisted she introduce him to all the ladies. Laughing at James, Harry then asked for a table for all of them and they had to wait a little while for it to be set up, so they all went to the bar area.  Michael and another dancer Natasha made their way over to them to congratulate Rose.  They stayed and talked about the audition until their table was ready. Several guys had approached Rose in that time trying to buy her a drink but she politely declined. Harry was getting more annoyed each time someone approached them and the only one that seemed to take it worse was Ron.  By the time the table was ready everyone had had a couple of drinks and were feeling pretty good. Harry asked Michael and Natasha if they wanted to eat but they declined and made Rose promise to come have another drink with them before they left. 

They all took their seats with Harry sitting next to Rose at one end of the table and Ron and Hermione at the other end of the table and everyone else in the middle.  Dinner went quickly with Rose only making Harry slightly uncomfortable when she insisted on playing footsies with him as well as the few times that her hand accidently found it’s way to the top of his thigh.  When dinner was over Rose said, “Thank you everyone for supporting me today.  If you don’t mind terribly, I would like to stay and celebrate with Natasha for a little while.  I’ll just sleep at her house tonight and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Ron frowned but reluctantly nodded in agreement and everyone said their goodbyes.

Harry pulled James aside and asked, “James, will you make sure your sister gets home OK?  I’d like to try and spend the rest of the night with my girlfriend.”

James smiled and said, “Sure, Dad.  No problem.  When do we get to meet her anyway?”

“Next weekend.” Replied Harry smiling

“Cool. Night Dad.” Replied James then he turned to Rose and said, “Hey what do you say I come back after I drop Lils off and you can set me up with your friend Natasha?”

Rose laughed and said, “No way, James. I actually like Natahsa. Besides she doesn’t do one night stands.”

“What, that’s ridiculous, Rose.  Everyone has one night stands.” Replied James incredulously

“Excuse me?” snapped Rose raising her eyebrows at him

“Well, I mean, except of course you, and Lils, and my Mum…because you’re family of course you wouldn’t do that. But everyone else…” James trailed off realizing he was digging his own grave by the look Rose and now Lily and Hermione were giving him. “Right then, time to go. “ said James high tailing it out the door with Al, Scorpius, and Hugo laughing behind him.

When everyone had finally left, Rose grabbed Harry’s hand and dragged him over to the bar to order their drinks then found Michael and Natasha and pushed Harry into a chair, promptly sitting in his lap. He grinned and they kissed quickly before they began talking about the day again with Michael and Natasha. After another half hour Rose had a few more drinks and was feeling pretty good.   She turned around on Harry’s lap and began passionately kissing him.  He pulled away breathless and chuckled saying, “Perhaps we should go home now, Love?”

Rose nodded happily in response and Harry kissed her again.  When they finished, they both smiled and then he looked up and was shocked to see James, Al and Scorpius standing in front of them with Natasha and Michael looking guilty beside them.

Rose who was currently kissing Harry’s neck felt him tense up and turned to see what Harry was looking at then said, “Bloody Hell,” when she saw who it was.

Harry cleared his throat and said, “Boys.”

Al nodded and Scorpius said, “Hi” but James was still staring at them with his mouth hanging open. 

Harry said, “Rose, can you stand up please?”

Rose nodded and stood shakily, then Harry stood and Rose grabbed his hand.  He looked down and smiled at her then said, “Perhaps we should head back to my place and discuss this James.”

James was staring at their joined hands and then looked up at his Dad when he started talking but he still didn’t say anything. He kept shaking his head like it was a hallucination.

Harry and Rose said goodbye to Natasha and Michael; who apologized profusely for not being able to cover for them. They waved them off and started leaving, with Al and Scorpius having to pull James along with them.

When they finally got back to Harry’s, Rose said, “I’m sweaty and I really need a bath, do you mind if I go wash up and that will give you some time to figure things out with James?”

“No, of course not.  Go ahead.” Replied Harry then he kissed her quickly before watching her go up the stairs.

James, Al and Scorpius were all sitting in the living room and Harry walked over to pour himself a drink asking if any of them wanted one.  They all said yes so Harry poured them all a drink then sat down.  For several minutes no one said anything so Harry decided he needed to go first, “James, are you going to say anything?”

“I don’t understand.” Said James confused then he added, “I thought you had a girlfriend?”

“I do, James.  Remember I said I was going to let you know who I was seeing next weekend?” replied Harry

“Yeah…”

“Rose is my girlfriend, James.” Said Harry

Harry watched as James opened and closed his mouth several times with only random sounds coming out for a while before he finally pulled himself together and said, “But she’s my cousin?”

“Yes.”

James got a little angry at this and said, “She’s your niece!”

“No, she’s not.  We’re not related by blood.  She’s your mothers niece.” Replied Harry

“Oh come on!” yelled James standing up then he added, “She’s younger than I am!”

“Yes.” Replied Harry

“DAD, ARE YOU MENTAL?  YOU’RE DATING MY COUSIN!!  SHE’S ONLY 17 AND ONLY A YEAR OLDER THAN YOUR DAUGHTER!” Yelled James wondering if his father had lost his mind

“James, I’m well aware of all of that. I didn’t exactly plan on this happening.” Replied Harry genuinely.

James was looking around incredulously and then he said, “Al, Why aren’t you freaking out like I am?”

Al sighed and said, “Because I already knew James. I’ve known since this started. And believe me I was freaking out worse than you, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

James looked shocked and then turned to Scorpius and said, “And you?”

Scorpius squirmed a little then said, “I saw something the other day that made me think they were closer than usual.”

James threw his hands in the air above his head and said, “Does anyone else know?”

“Hermione,” replied Harry

James looked incredulously at his Dad for several minutes then sat down and began drinking again in silence.

A few minutes later Rose came down the stairs in what were clearly her pajamas, while toweling her hair dry. She came in and sat across from James next to Harry and said, “Well?”

“Well what?” asked James stunned

“What are you thinking?  Are you for us, against us, or indifferent?” asked Rose annoyed

“Rose, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you and my Dad are an ‘us’!” replied James exasperatedly

“Rose, perhaps we should just tell everyone tomorrow, instead of waiting until next weekend.” Said Harry

Rose looked over at him and grabbed his hand and said, “Sure, if that’s what you want.  I was just waiting for the audition to be over and to hear about my training from the Ministry.”

“I thought that was for the other thing?” asked Harry raising his eyebrows

“It was but now with me making it this far in the audition, I need to do that other thing before Friday.  So we should tell them this weekend.” Replied Rose

“Yeah, I guess you would want to do that before Friday. Alright, let’s tell everyone tomorrow night then.” Replied Harry

Everyone had been watching them have this conversation as if there was no one else in the room and it was intriguing.

“What are you talking about, what other thing?” asked Al

Harry and Rose both startled at the intrusion and looked questioningly at Al but didn’t reply.  Rose then said, “I’m going to go get some ice cream, I’ll be right back.” And she bounded off to the kitchen making Harry chuckle.

“Well, boys it’s getting late.  We can talk more about this tomorrow, so, if you don’t mind, why don’t you head home.” Said Harry motioning towards the floo.

“Are you serious?” asked James

“Yeah...” Replied Harry

“Are you going to spend the night with Rosie?” asked James angrily

“Yes, James, that’s generally what one does with their girlfriend.” Replied Harry annoyed

“BUT ITS ROSIE!” yelled James

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly when Rose came in eating a pint of ice cream straight from the container. She walked over to Harry and fed him some from her spoon, turned to them and said, “Boys, as much as I love you, could you please go home now, so I can shag my boyfriend?”

Al groaned and got up saying “good night,” while Scorpius got up laughing and followed Al to the floo.  James was looking incredulously at Rose and she walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek, said, “Good night James,” and started pushing him towards the floo.  He turned back to see his Dad chuckling.

“James we can talk more about this tomorrow, OK… But please keep it between us until we tell everyone.” Said Harry

As soon as the three of them were gone, Harry locked his floo and Rose jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him. She tasted like ice cream and Harry loved it.  Things quickly grew passionate and he carried her up the stairs as fast as he could. He couldn’t wait to ravish her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Oh Baby!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Apparantly I need to add a warning that Ron loses his cool in this chapter, as one reviewer put it he is OOC. I disagree that he is OOC but alas if you don't want to see Ron go nuclear when he finds out his best friend is shagging his teenage daughter, then skip to the next chapter and just imagine that Ron was unhappy.

I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry woke up early in the morning and watched Rose sleep peacefully.He still found it hard to believe how much he loved her and he couldn’t imagine spending a single day without her.He had gone to the jewelers the other day just to look and ended up getting the most perfect engagement ring.He knew that everything was going fast and that they were the most unlikely pair imaginable, but he had never been this happy before and he wasn’t going to let it slip away.He had thought he would wait a few more weeks at least before asking her, but the more he thought about it the more sense it made to ask her now before things became even crazier.Ron was definitely going to lose it tonight when they told him and then they would both be upset about that.Plus later in the week she was going to take a pregnancy test and that would complicate things further.Right now, before all of the craziness it was about just the two of them and how much they loved each other.And that’s just what this was all about, him and Rose.

He smiled and reached over to his nightstand, pulling open the drawer and getting the ring box out.He opened it and looked at the ring, it was quite beautiful; even he knew that.The jeweler said that it was platinum but Harry couldn’t see anything other than the gems.There was one large diamond in the center and then a medium sized ruby on either side of it.The entire band was made up of alternating diamonds and rubies.It cost a fortune, but it was exactly what Rose deserved.He wasn’t very romantic so he tried to make it clear how he felt when he had the opportunity, and he hoped that this ring made it clear to Rose just how much he loved her.

Harry moved a little so that he could get to Rose’s left hand without disturbing her too much and slipped the ring on her finger.He was pleased to see it fit perfectly.He had nicked one of her rings one day while she was in the shower and took it with him when he went to the jewelers.He smiled happily and then started to kiss Rose’s fingers, one by one.Then he moved up her arm onto her neck and finally onto her face.He was leaving little barely there kisses and she was smiling before she even opened her eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Said Harry softly

Rose smiled and curled up into his chest making him chuckle, then he said, “Rose?”

“Mmm”

“Marry me.” Said Harry simply

Rose’s eyes shot open to see Harry smiling down at her

“What did you just say?” asked Rose breathlessly

“I said, marry me.” Replied Harry amused

Rose smiled but asked, “Are you serious?”

Harry nodded his head vigorously and leaned down to kiss her before saying, “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life, Rose.Marry me.”

“I…I…” stuttered Rose hesitantly then she finally burst out, “YES!”

Harry leaned down and kissed her again, which quickly became passionate.It seemed they couldn’t get the few items of clothing off fast enough.When they were finally one Rose took her hand and started running it along Harry’s jaw.She gasped when she saw the ring on her left hand. Harry smiled and started kissing her hand where the ring was and said, “I love you, Rose.”

“I love you, Harry.More than I ever thought possible.” Replied Rose sincerely

They spent the next hour truly making love and enjoyed every moment.They fell back to sleep in each other’s arms.

Harry found himself suddenly awake and he was wondering why as he gazed at Rose.The sun was shining down on them making the bed extremely cozy.He smiled and went to lie back down when he heard one of his sons calling him from downstairs.He managed to get out of bed without waking Rose and put on some pants and grabbed a shirt before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.When he got downstairs he found both of his boys waiting for him in the living room.

“Hey, what’s going on?” asked Harry

“Dad, where you still asleep?It’s nearly noon.” Said Al

Harry just smiled devilishly while pulling his shirt over his head and motioned for the boys to follow him into the kitchen.He was famished and needed to eat something soon.He started pulling out what he needed to make breakfast and said, “So what brings you two here?”

Al grabbed some juice and sat down at the table rolling his eyes

James replied as if it was obvious, “Dad, we didn’t exactly get to talk about anything last night.With you and Rose.”

Harry smiled and asked, “What about us?”

“DAD!” yelled James

“Keep your voice down James, you’ll wake Rose.” Snapped Harry

James sighed and said, “Fine.How long have you been together?”

Harry thought for a minute before replying, “Almost six weeks, since Rose’s party.”

“What?You got together at her birthday party?” asked James horrified

Harry laughed and said, “No, after the party.I don’t remember which one of you it was, but one of you said how it looked like Rose was hunting for her prey that night.Turns out it was me.”

“Dad, don’t you think maybe you should have said no to her?” asked James hesitantly

Harry just looked at James like he was an idiot then replied sarcastically, “No, James, that hadn’t occurred to me at all.”

“I’m serious Dad.” Replied James

Harry sighed and said, “I did say no, James.Believe me I did.I said no all the way up until I couldn’t take it anymore.I said no at the party when she was sitting in my lap, I said no when she was whispering in my ear, I said no when she was putting my hands on her waist to dance with her, I said no when she was nibbling on my ear, I said no when she dragged me to the kitchen to tell Hermione we were leaving, I said no when she was in my living room telling me what she wanted, I said no when she was pulling me up the stairs, I said no when she was in my bedroom, hell I even said no when she was undressing me BUT she wasn’t taking no for an answer and there was only so much I could resist her.There was this spark when she touched me or when she was really close to me that felt like electricity and as much as I knew it shouldn’t happen I couldn’t stop it.”

Harry looked up to see both his boys looking at him shocked. “What?”

Al cleared his throat and said, “Nothing, its just, it sounds like you really did try and resist her.I guess I didn’t believe either of you before.”

“He told you that before and you didn’t believe him?” asked James incredulously

Al shook his head and said, “No, he said he didn’t mean for it to happen and he wasn’t sure how it happened but that he wasn’t sorry.Rose said that it was all her and I guess she wasn’t lying.”

“Ok, that explains how you ended up shagging the first time but Dad that was six weeks ago, why didn’t you just agree that it was a mistake and move on.Nobody would have known.” Said James confused

Harry shook his head and said, “James you don’t understand.It was indescribable, how it felt, how it feels, when we’re together.It’s like one of those muggle movies where fireworks go off when a couple kisses…That’s the only way I can describe it.I’ve never felt anything like it before, it’s like we were made for each other.For the first time in my life I feel like I found my other half.There’s no way I‘m walking away from that, no matter how complicated it may be.”

Harry finished making breakfast while the boys thought about that.He then put everything on the table and grabbed some plates and silverware then sat down.After they had all put some food on their plates he asked, “Now do you understand?”

They both shook their heads no and Harry sighed, internally giving up, but they spoke up first…

“Dad, I heard what you said, I did.I just can’t really understand it because I’ve never been in love with anyone.I mean I’ve cared for girls, yeah, but what you’re talking about is a lot more than that.But I believe you and if you’re happy with Rose then I’ll learn to be happy for you.” Said Al

“Yeah, Dad.I don’t get it either.I mean I’ve never been on more than three dates with the same witch so I have no idea what it’s like to feel that way.But I’ll take your word for it.” Said James seriously then he continued jokingly, “And I guess I’ll get over the fact that you’re shagging my cousin.”

Al groaned at that and Harry smacked James on the back of the head but they all smiled and began eating again until they heard Rose say “Awww.”

They all turned to see her standing in the doorway in one of Harry’s button down shirts.The sleeves were rolled up and it fell to just above mid-thigh on her.Harry thought she looked heavenly as she made her way into the kitchen and gave him a quick kiss then sat down at the table.She grabbed Harry’s plate and began piling food on it, then stole his fork and began eating happily.

Her and Harry were too busy smiling at each other to pay attention to James or Al but after a few minutes of silence, Harry looked over to see his boys with shocked expressions, “What?” he asked.

James just pointed at Rose’s hand and Harry followed it to see the engagement ring he had just given her this morning.He merely smiled in response.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Al finally

Rose looked up from eating and saw that they were all staring at her.She was so hungry she really hadn’t been paying attention, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t really listening… What did you ask me?”

“Why is there a ring on your finger that looks suspiciously like an engagement ring?” asked Al more clearly

Rose beamed and looked at the ring, then turned her hand so they could see it properly, and said, “Oh you mean this?”

Al and James both nodded

She smiled and replied, “Because it is an engagement ring.”

“Bloody hell Dad, you really don’t do anything in halves, do you?” said James shocked.

Harry shook his head no and leaned over to give Rose a kiss.

Then the doorbell rang and Harry groaned saying, “Who the hell comes to my door?”

“Dad, your floo is locked, James and I just apparated into your living room.” Replied Al

“Oh yeah, I forgot I did that last night after you left.Sorry boys, but I really didn’t want to talk anymore last night.” Said Harry winking at Rose, which made her giggle and the boys groan.

“Love, do you want to head upstairs before I open the door, so you can get dressed?” asked Harry amused

“Yeah, I guess I should probably do that.” Replied Rose not too enthusiastically.She got up and they both walked out of the kitchen, Harry to get the door and Rose to get dressed.

When she had made it up the stairs, he opened the door to find Hermione looking quite annoyed.She walked right in past him and started ranting, “Harry what in Merlin’s name are you thinking locking your floo like that?”She walked right into the kitchen not even waiting for a reply.

Chuckling, Harry closed the door and followed her into the kitchen saying, “Sorry, Mione, I was thinking I wanted to spend some time alone with my fiancé.”

“Harry, there could have been an emergency or I could have…wait, what did you just say?” said Hermione completely flustered

Harry smirked and said, “What, I wanted to spend some time alone?”

“No, not that.” Snapped Hermione

“I was thinking?” teased Harry

“Damn it Harry!Did you just say fiancé?” screeched Hermione

Before Harry could reply, Rose beat him too it and said smirking, “Yes, he did.”

Hermoine was truly speechless.She was feeling a little faint as well and quickly sat at the table with the boys.

Harry and Rose moved to the table and Rose indicated he should sit and then she sat on his lap.They all waited patiently for Hermione to say something.After a few minutes she reached for Rose’s hand and looked at the ring, then looked at them again for several more minutes.

Finally Harry started laughing and said, “I can’t believe you’re speechless, Mione!”

She smiled and replied, “You… surprised me… that’s all.”

They all chuckled at that obvious statement.

………………….

Harry called Ginny and Lily and asked if they could come over to Ron and Hermione’s at 6PM so that they could meet his girlfriend and they both agreed happily.Rose owled her Dad and asked if he could be home at 6PM to meet her boyfriend and he replied quickly that he would be there.Rose then called Hugo and told him the same.When they were both finished they confirmed with Al and James that they would also come.Since it was Hermione’s idea to do it at her house, there was no need to check with her.Rose then turned to Harry and said, “There’s only a few hours left and I need to do a few things before tonight, so I’m going to head home and I’ll see you there soon?”

Harry smiled, nodded and kissed her.He then said, “You still have a few hours to change your mind, love.”

“Never,” said Rose kissing him again before leaving with Hermione.

Harry turned to Al and James and said jokingly, “Boys if I don’t survive tonight, please take care of your sister.”

They all laughed for a minute before they became serious again and Al said, “Dad, that’s really not funny.Uncle Ron is going to lose it tonight, you know that, right?”

Harry sighed and nodded his head, then replied, “Yeah, I know.I’m not so worried about me.I’ve dealt with his anger plenty of time.” Harry paused for a minute then said, “Boys, all joking aside, I want you to promise me that if things start to go really bad that you’ll get Rose and Hermione out of danger.”

“Are you serious?” asked James shocked

“Yes, completely serious James.I can take care of myself but I won’t be able to protect Rose and Hermione, while fighting off Ron.” Replied Harry

“You think he’ll hurt his own family?” asked Al incredulously

“I don’t think so but the Auror in me wants to be prepared for anything.I know Ron’s going to be furious that Hermione knew about this.I know he’s going to feel betrayed by me.I don’t know how he’s going to handle it though.My guess is it’s going to go a lot like our fight during the horcrux hunt and that doesn’t work out well for Hermione or Rose.Just promise me that if Ron turns his anger on either of them and for whatever reason I can’t protect them both, that you’ll do your best to get them out of there.” Harry asked gravely

They both nodded reluctantly

“And unless we’re shouting the AK curse at each other, do not call the Aurors.This stays in the family.The press would have a field day with this.” Said Harry sternly.

“Dad, it’s not going to be that bad, alright.” Said James slapping Harry’s shoulder.When Harry just looked at him expectantly, James said, “I promise, Dad, I’ll get them out of there if things go that badly.”

Harry nodded and turned to Al expectantly.

Al sighed and said, “Yeah, sure.I’ll take care of them.”

“Thank you.” Replied Harry seriously and then he clapped his hands together and said, “Well, I better go get washed up.I’ll see you guys in a little bit.”

They both nodded and watched Harry leave the kitchen. They then left to go home and relax before what was obviously going to be a very eventful night.

Harry got ready quickly and since he had some time to spare he made a quick trip to Gringotts to check on Al’s present. He had put aside money for all three of his children after the divorce that no one knew about.When James had finished his NEWTS and made his career choice, Harry had given him his own vault with one million galleons.He made James promise not to tell anyone, as he was going to do the same with his other children.Harry was just transferring everything over now so that he could surprise Al when he got his trainee notification on Wednesday from the Ministry.He also thought it was a good time to add Rose to his accounts since she was his fiancé now.It probably wouldn’t hurt to update his will while he was there as well…

Rose was at home in her room, secretly packing everything into her Mum’s old beaded bag.She just had a feeling that things weren’t going to go well with her Dad tonight and she wanted to be prepared if she wasn’t going to be able come back.She finished with just enough time to shower and change before everyone arrived.When she was ready she took one last look at her room before turning the lights off and shutting the door.She shrunk the bag and placed it in her pocket, then headed out to the living room so spend a few minutes with her Dad before all hell broke loose.

Ron was in the living room watching television…

“Hey Dad.” Said Rose sitting down next to him.

“Hey sweetheart.So tonight’s the big night, I finally get to meet this mystery man you’ve been seeing!” said Ron smiling at her evilly

“Yeah…” replied Rose quietly

“Is everything OK sweetheart?” asked Ron concerned

Rose nodded and said sincerely, “Dad, I just wanted you to know before everyone gets here, that I love you.Even if you don’t like my boyfriend, I’ll still love you.”

“I love you too sweetheart.” Said Ron pulling Rose in for a hug and kissing the top of her head.They hugged until they heard the floo activate and pulled apart to see Al and James.

Rose wiped away some stray tears and got up to go into the kitchen with her Mum, while Ron got up to talk with the boys, calling for Hugo to come in.

When Rose entered the kitchen Hermione looked up and said, “How are you doing?”

Rose shrugged and said, “Not so good.I have a really bad feeling about tonight.”

Hermione smiled sympathetically and said, “Maybe it won’t be so bad, Rose.”

Rose nodded but changed the subject and asked, “Mum, why are you cooking?No one’s going to eat once we’ve told them our news.”

Hermione shrugged and said, “It’s giving me something to do and that’s calming my nerves right now.”

Rose swore the clock had stopped, she kept looking at it and it was barely moving.It was so bad that she was actually watching the seconds pass.She wasn’t sure she was going to survive the few minutes wait until everyone was here.She was a nervous wreck and was fairly certain she might throw up.In fact when Ginny and Lily came into the kitchen, Rose did get up and go to the bathroom to throw up.She washed up and freshened her breath, then left the bathroom, sighing in relief when she saw Harry had finally arrived.He walked over to her and gave her a hug then whispered, “Are you alright?”

She nodded yes but he didn’t look convinced so he said, “We don’t have to do this Rose, if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do.The wait was killing me; I just made myself sick with anxiety while I was waiting for everyone.I’m fine now; trust me, I want to do this.” Said Rose genuinely.

Harry nodded and smiled in response, and then Hermione was calling them all into the kitchen to sit down.

Harry grabbed Lily and said to her quickly, “Lily, I want you to know how much I love you.Later, when this is all over, promise me you’ll let me explain everything to you?”

Lily looked at him curiously for a minute then said reassuringly, “Sure, Dad.I love you too, you know that.”

Harry smiled and they entered the kitchen.Harry walked over to Rose then cleared his throat and spoke loudly to the group, “I know I’ve told you all I’ve been seeing someone special.It was an unexpected surprise to find out how perfect we are together and I can honestly say I am truly happy.I couldn’t imagine my life without her and this morning I asked her to marry me.”

Shouts of congratulations were given to Harry and he merely smiled in response.When everyone had quieted down again, Rose spoke up saying clearly, “And I said yes.”Then she grabbed Harry’s hand and intertwined their fingers.

There seemed to be a sense of confusion among those that did not know.After a short pause Rose gathered all her courage and said loud and clear, “The person I have been seeing, the older wizard that I have fallen completely in love with, is Harry.”

Rose and Harry were standing holding hands and were watching Ron to see what his reaction was.They were so focused on Ron that they forgot about the others…

Ginny stood up from her seat so quickly that her chair clattered to the floor and she screeched, “ARE YOU FUCKING MENTAL HARRY?SHE’S A CHILD!SHE’S THE SAME AGE AS ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN!SHE’S FAMILY FOR MERLIN’S SAKE!HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MARBLES?”

Harry looked quickly to Lily to see a look of complete shock on her face.She was completely speechless.

Before Harry could say anything in response to Ginny, Ron, who had lunged at him over the table and was now strangling him with all his might, knocked him to the ground.

Rose was screaming, “STOP,” and everyone else seemed to be in shock. Hermione had known this would happen so she was just making sure they didn’t actually kill each other.It helped that she secretly summoned everyone’s wands while Harry and Rose were talking and hid them under the table with a sticking charm.

They all watched in horror as Ron and Harry continued to fight, rolling across the floor knocking everything over that was in their path.Rose was still yelling for them to stop. Lily was crying now and the boys looked like they were going to intervene until Hermione said “No.”

Frowning they stayed put and watched as somehow Ron managed to pick Harry up and throw him across the table, breaking everything on it in the process. Harry fell off the table and rolled quickly to his feet, facing Ron.

They watched in fascination as the two men stared each other down.They both looked pretty bad, with only Harry looking slightly worse.They were both breathing heavily and Ron finally spoke, anger radiating off of him in waves.His voice was gruff, low and fierce; he was practically growling at Harry when he said, “I’m going to fucking kill you Potter.How dare you even think you can touch my daughter!”

Ron made a move towards Harry but Hermione quickly stepped in his path.She was only able to get out, “Ron…” before she was cut off by him, using the same tone he had with Harry, saying, “Hermione, get the fuck out of my way!”

Harry said, “Mione, No!” and tried to pull her out of the way but she wouldn’t budge.

Al and James exchanged worried glances at this turn of events.Things were definitely not going well.

Ginny chimed in at this point and yelled, “You can’t be serious Hermione!Harry’s shagging your daughter for Merlin’s sake and you’re still going to stand there and protect him?”

Ron took this opportunity to reach for his wand only to find it wasn’t there.Needless to say this did not help his temper, “where the fuck is my wand hermione?” bellowed Ron getting so close to her their noses were practically touching.

They all reached for their wands then and realized that they all were missing their wands.Several expletives’ were shouted and Hermione instinctively took a step back from Ron but remained defiantly silent.Harry tried again to pull her behind him but she was fighting him.

Seeing his wife protect Harry sofiercely was the last straw for Ron, and he grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and shoved her out of the way.He used so much force that she yelped when she was thrown several feet until she crashed into the floor, at the same time hitting her head on the wall, leaving her slightly dazed.

This act sent Harry over the edge and he lunged at Ron screaming profanities at him.He slammed Ron into the cabinets, making everything crash around them.He then grabbed him by the shirt, turned him around and slammed him into the refrigerator.

While this was going on Ginny, Rose, and Lily were all screaming or crying hysterically.James and Al nodded to each other and Al went for Rose while James went for Hermione.Hugo still in shock went to see if his mother was OK.

“Rose, we need to go.” Said Al urgently grabbing her hand trying to pull her out of the room.

She seemed to realize that she was getting further away from Harry and started to panic and scream, “NO! I’M NOT LEAVING HARRY!” over and over again.

James was trying to reason with Hermione that he needed to get her out of there but she was adamantly refusing and trying to stand at the same time.James put his arm around her and helped her up.She leaned against the wall and looked at what was happening in shock.Harry and Ron were ripping each other to pieces.Then Rose seemed to scream louder than all the noise in the kitchen and this made everyone stop to see what was going on.

All eyes turned to see Al literally pulling Rose towards the door with all his might.

Ron’s rage seemed to come back and he shoved Harry aside and quickly strode over to Rose, grabbing her arms hard and pulling her out of Al’s grip.She screamed in pain as she was dragged away.Ron threw her against the wall and stood in front of her threateningly with his hands on her throat, and then he turned slightly and addressed everyone, looking and sounding completely off his rocker.“MY DAUGHTER IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.LET ME TELL YOU WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NOW.YOU’RE ALL GOING TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!THEN I’M GOING TO TEACH MY DAUGHTER A LESSON.AND POTTER IF YOU SO MUCH AS THINK ABOUT GETTING IN MY WAY, I’LL KILL YOU BOTH.IS THAT CLEAR?”

Harry was completely still desperately trying to think of a way to get Rose out of there.

Al, James, Hugo and Lily were in complete shock with their mouths hanging open.

Ginny and Hermione both started taking small steps towards Ron.Hermione spoke up quietly saying, “Ron, please, let go of Rose…”

Ginny then said, “Ron, what are you doing?She’s your daughter, let go of her!”

If they had thought Ron was angry before, they were completely unprepared for the unhinged psychotic Ron that started bellowing so loudly that the house shook and the magic around him crackled.“NO!I DON’T WANT TO HEAR A FUCKING THING FROM EITHER OF YOU TWO!YOU’RE ALL FUCKING SLAGS AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED!NONE OF YOU CAN SAY NO TO HIM!IT’S ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY!FIRST YOU, HERMIONE, THEN YOU, GINNY, NOW ROSIE! WELL I SAY NO!IT STOPS HERE!DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME POTTER!I’M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE ANOTHER WITCH FROM ME!”

Harry realized at this point that the only way to get the others out of here was to draw Ron’s rage on himself.He had to antagonize Ron so that he would attack him and this would give the others time to leave.He looked quickly to Al and when they made eye contact he sent him the plan through legilimency.It was quick and Al was shaking his head from the invasion but he nodded at his Dad when he regained his balance.

Harry stepped forward and arrogantly said, “You’re right Ron.They always do what I ask.They always take my side.It’s always been that way.When we were in school, Ginny did whatever I wanted her too even though you said not to.We would laugh about how clueless you were, when we were sneaking around behind your back in broom closets and the room of requirement, even in my bed when you were sleeping right next to me.”

Ron had let go of Rose’s neck at this point and was facing Harry his face showing if possible even more rage…

“Harry!” yelled Ginny appalled

He sent her an apologetic look but quickly went back to antagonizing Ron seeing that it was working, “Then when we were searching for the Horcruxes, Hermione always took my side.She took care of me first, made sure I was fed first, that my clothes were clean, that I got enough sleep, that I was warm enough.She cut my hair and shaved my face, took the Horcrux for me when I couldn’t suffer through any more.She stayed with me while you were sleeping and told me her secret desires.”

Ron growled incoherently and took a small step away from Rose but it wasn’t enough, they needed him to move further away.Hermione understood what Harry was doing and she nodded at him to continue...

He did so knowing that he was pushing the limits of his friendship with Ron, “Then when you were finally gone, Hermione sought comfort in me.She needed me to hold her and kiss her and tell her that it was OK.She showed me a side of her that you’ve never seen.I showed her love that you weren’t brave enough to.I gave her all the love I had, and she greedily took it!”

Hermione groaned, while Ginny looked on angrily.

Ron took a couple more steps and he was looking furiously between Harry and Hermione.Ron was in the middle of a triangle made up of Harry, Rose, and Hermione and Harry knew he wouldn’t be able to get both Hermione and Rose out of there safely if he stopped right now.He saw Al moving towards Rose slowly as well as he pleaded with Rose with his eyes to understand…she was crying but Harry hoped it wasn’t because of what he was saying, he hoped she understood that he was goading Ron to keep her safe.He mouthed an “I love you, please forgive me” to Rose when she looked up and sent her as much love as he could silently hoping she knew what he was doing, then he slammed the door shut on his friendship with Ron.

Snarling much like Snape with venom in his voice he said, “But I have to say Ron, you saved the best for last, because of the three of them, your daughter is by far the most skilled in the sack.”

“YOU BASTARD!” Screamed Ron lunging at Harry and throwing him to the floor, while strangling him

Hermione dove for the hidden wands while Al grabbed Rose and started pulling her towards the doorway.James grabbed Lily and did the same while yelling, “Mum, we need to go!”

Hermione finally got the wands free and tossed a bunch at Al and James and then turned to the Ron and screamed, “STUPEFY!”

The spell hit him right in the back and he collapsed on Harry, who was gasping for air.Hermione fell to the floor and crawled over to them helping Harry move Ron to the side.

Rose broke free from Al and ran to Harry crushing him in a hug, crying hysterically.Harry kept saying over and over, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean any of it, I swear Rose, none of it was true; please believe me!”He was crying as well and had tears streaming down his face.

Everyone in the room just stopped and watched the pair in complete shock of all that had just happened.Slowly everyone sat down in shock.

Harry and Rose were wrapped in each others arms on the floor still, with Rose sobbing into Harry’s chest.

Hermione was a few feet away also sitting on the floor in complete shock with Ron in between her and Harry.He was lying flat on his back with his hands still above him as if they were still choking Harry.He was looking around furiously with his eyes but for the time being that’s all he could do.

Ginny walked slowly to one of the few chairs that hadn’t been turned over and sat down.

Al was standing near the back door while James, Lily, and Hugo were near the doorway to the living room.

Slowly, Hermione started to cry.It started as just a whimper and suddenly she was hysterical.Harry moved as quickly as he could with Rose wrapped around him and scooted over next to Hermione.He pried an arm free from Rose and pulled Hermione into him as well.

“What have I done!” cried Hermione

“Shhh… It’s OK, Mione.Everything’s going to be OK.” Said Harry over and over into her hair.

“He was horrible!” she sobbed

“Mione, you know Ron.You knew he would react this way.He just needs time.”Replied Harry supportively

She was shaking her head no but couldn’t do more than cry into Harry’s shoulder.After several minutes she seemed to calm down and said quietly, “He hurt me…He hurt Rose…I never thought he would do that.”

“I know Mione.I know.” Replied Harry simply

Rose had settled down enough that she could talk and she said, “Mum, I’m so sorry.”

Hermione sobbed and let go of Harry and pulled Rose into a hug saying, “Rose, sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for.I’m sorry.I should have been able to protect you.I should have done more.”They were hugging over Harry and both were crying.They stayed like this for several minutes until Hugo came over, kneeled down and asked, “Mum, are you OK?You hit your head pretty hard.”

They broke apart and Hermione moved away from Harry and Rose and tried to stand up, she wavered and Hugo put his arms around her to steady her.“I’ll be alright, Hugo, I’m just a little dizzy.” Said Hermione

Hugo frowned while James grabbed a chair and brought it over to her and they helped her sit.“Mum, you need to see a healer.”

Harry started to try and get up off the floor, but Rose started whimpering in fright and he said softly into her ear, “It’s OK.You can stay with me, I’m just getting up.”

She nodded and got up with him, immediately wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Daddy, you’re bleeding,” said Lily crying and making her way over to him

“I’m fine, Lily, I’m fine,” said Harry giving her as much of a hug as he could with Rose still attached to him.

“Daddy, I was so scared, I thought Uncle Ron was going to kill you,” sobbed Lily into his shoulder

“I’m so sorry, Lily.I never should have told him with all of you here, I’m so sorry, pumpkin,” replied Harry kissing the top of her head.

Al had moved over to his mother and seeing that she was OK, he asked everyone, “What do we do now?We can’t leave Uncle Ron stunned forever…”

Harry sighed heavily and everyone else was silent until Harry spoke up saying, “I’ll stay with him.You guys should all go, stay at Grimmauld Place for the night.Once you’ve gone, I’ll wake him.”

They all objected in various forms to this plan, Lily and Rose were both crying and Hermione and Ginny were both yelling at him that it was a terrible idea.James, Al and Hugo were also letting him know they didn’t like that idea.

“Alright, Alright.I won’t stay with him, but I’m not letting any of you stay here either.” Said Harry loudly over everyone

“Harry, I’ll stay.” Said Hermione

“Absolutely not, Mione.I’m not letting him near you again until I’m sure he’s calmed down.” Replied Harry sternly

“Look, he’s not made at me, I’ll stay.” Said Ginny annoyed

“No.You’re not staying either.” Said Harry simply

“Why not!?” snapped Ginny

“Because he may not be mad at you but he’s angry enough that he won’t hesitate to hurt you and he’ll overpower you easily.” Replied Harry logically

Ginny huffed but conceded the point.

James spoke up and said, “Why don’t Al and I stay?We should be able to handle him between the two of us.”

Al looked at James like he was crazy but nodded his consent.

“No, I’m not leaving you two here.Look, I have an idea of who can stay with him, just give me a minute.” Said Harry walking towards the living room with Rose still attached to his side.He went to the floo and they could hear him talking but it was muffled so they didn’t know whom it was he was talking to.A few minutes later he came back to the kitchen with Kingsley.

“Merlin, Harry.” Said Kingsley seeing the scene when he walked into the kitchen.He then noticed Hermione and saw that there was blood running down the side of her face and walked quickly to her and bent down in front of her turning her head to the side.She seemed to be confused to see him but smiled softly.“Hermione, are you all right?” he asked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m OK…although I’m a little dizzy and my head hurts a little.” Then she looked at him strangely and asked, “Kingsley, when did you get here?”

Kingsley frowned and stood up turning to Harry and said, “She needs to see a healer.”Harry nodded in agreement and Kingsley continued, “It looks like you need to see a healer as well Harry.”

“I’m fine but I think Rose should be seen as well.” Harry then brought Rose over to a chair and sat her down and kneeled in front of her to take a look at her.She had angry red marks on her neck and bruises forming on her upper arms and her wrists.Harry sighed and said, “I’m so sorry Rose.I should have been able to protect you.”

She wiped a few stray tears off his face and said, “I’m fine, Harry, they’re just bruises.”

Kingsley got closer and took a look at her and frowned more.“Ron did this to all of you?”

No one answered right away so Harry said, “He was angrier than I expected and he didn’t just take it out on me, he took it out on Hermione and Rose as well.”

Kingsley nodded and looked around for a few minutes then sighed and said, “This is a political nightmare, Harry.”

“I know, sir.” Replied Harry

“I tried to get Hermione to listen to me about the personal guards but she refused,” said Kingsley sighing and then he turned to her and continued, “Hermione, I’m not taking no for an answer now.”

“Kingsley, I’m fine, really.” Started Hermione but Kingsley cut her off and snapped, “I’ll not have the next Minister for Magic being beaten by her own husband.Do you understand me?This is not negotiable.”

Hermione nodded accepting defeat, making Harry smile.Everyone else looked quite shocked, when finally Ginny asked, “What do you mean the next Minister?”

Kingsley looked around to see all the shocked faces and said to Hermione, “Oh, you haven’t told them yet?”

“No,” she said quietly

“Sorry.” Replied Kingsley feeling bad; then he said commandingly to the group, “It’s time for you all to go.I’ll take care of Ron and have a talk with him.I’ll owl you in the morning, Harry and let you know what’s going on.I want you, Rose and Hermione to be seen by a healer.That’s an order.”

Everyone looked around at each other and then nodded their consent begrudgingly; after all they really didn’t have a choice.Harry told them all to floo to Grimmauld place and one by one they left.When he was the only one left he went back to the kitchen surprising Kingsley, who watched as Harry kneeled down over Ron…

Harry sighed heavily and then guiltily said, “I’m sorry about all of this Ron.I didn’t mean any of what I said earlier, I just needed to get you away from Rose and Hermione and saying those things was the only way to get you to come after me.Ron, I’m in love with Rose and nothing you say or do is going to change that.”He paused for a moment and then his eyes turned angry and fierce while his voice became cold when he continued, “But let me be clear, if you ever put your hands on Rose again or so much as threaten to touch a hair on her head, I’ll kill you.” Then he added “And the same goes for Mione.”Harry then stood, nodded to Kingsley and left.

When Harry arrived home, the house was a little chaotic.There was some yelling and it sounded like someone was retching, as well as some crying.Harry followed the noise and found everyone outside the bathroom and in the kitchen.He quirked an eyebrow at the group outside the bathroom and Lily said, “Rose is in there.She’s throwing up and she won’t let any of us in.”

Harry grew concerned and tried to open the door, to find it locked.He waved his wand, unlocked it and opened the door to find Rose on the floor vomiting into the toilet.He rushed in and pulled her hair back then said, “Love, are you alright?”

She sobbed a little then moved away from the toilet and leaned against the wall.Harry grabbed the towel that Lily handed him and gave it to her.He then passed a glass of water to her, again from Lily and waited for her response.

After a minute she replied, “Yes, sorry.My stomach has been a nervous wreck all day.I was sick before we told my Dad and just now I think it all hit me again.I’m feeling better now, though.”

Harry was still concerned so he bent down in front of her and brushed some of the hair away from her face and said, “Stay here for a minute, I’m going to see if I can get a healer to come to the house instead of us all going to St. Mungo’s.” Harry turned and looked at Lily who nodded and sat down near Rose in the bathroom.He made his way out of the bathroom and past the boys into the kitchen where Hermione was sitting with Ginny and Hugo.

Upon seeing his face Hermione asked, “Is everything OK?”

Harry nodded and said, “Yeah, Rose just isn’t feeling well.I’m going to try and get a healer to come here so we don’t all have to go to St. Mungo’s.” He had started to write a letter and was going to give it to his owl when he stopped seeing Hermione trying to get up to go to Rose.He quickly moved to settle her back down saying, “She’s fine, Lily’s with her.You need to rest, Mione.”

She huffed but stayed seated. A minute later Rose followed by Lily, Al and James came into the kitchen.Rose immediately went to Harry and he wrapped his arms around her and placed his head on top of hers.They were all quiet for several minutes when Harry moved a little against the counter and said, “Ouch,” loudly.

Rose pulled away and looked at him concerned asking, “What’s wrong?”

Harry frowned and said, “I don’t know, I just got this sharp pain in my back when I moved against the counter…” he trailed off as Rose turned him to look at his back.She gasped as she lifted his shirt up and saw that there were pieces of glass stuck in his back.There must have been over a dozen lacerations with large pieces of glass embedded in them and countless more with smaller pieces.“Harry, there’s glass stuck in your back.” Said Rose horrified.

Harry shrugged and said, “Well, we did break a lot of things.”

Rose frowned and grabbed her wand then cut his shirt off.Everyone else gasped or groaned when they saw all the damage as well.Rose turned him around to see the front and found even more there.“Where’s your first aid kit?” asked Rose

“Rose, you don’t have to do anything.The healer will be here soon.” Said Harry but when she gave him a certain look he gave in and pointed to a cabinet across the kitchen.Rose went to get it and patted the counter, indicating Harry should sit on it.He got up and Rose started to work on his front.It was intriguing for everyone to watch them interact in such a personal way.Harry gave in easily to whatever Rose asked of him and they seemed completely unaware that anyone else was in the room with them.Rose was extremely gentle and showed so much care for Harry that it was almost uncomfortable for them to watch, feeling like they were intruding on a private moment between the two.Rose would use her wand to remove the glass from him, then disinfect the wound and apply an antibiotic from the first aid kit with her hands, before going back to her wand to heal the wound.She did one wound at a time and gave a soft brush of her hand over the newly closed wound before moving on to the next one.Harry would go from tense in the beginning to relaxed at the end.After about 15 minutes, they heard the floo activate and someone calling “Potter!”

“In the kitchen!” yelled Harry back and a minute later a very angry looking Madam Pomfrey was walking in.

“Potter, Did I not tell you I was retired!I am not your personal healer!” yelled Madam Pomfrey sternly

Harry smiled and replied, “I know, and I am sorry to have bothered you, truly I am, but it’s just a little complicated and I didn’t want to subject everyone to St. Mungo’s and have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions.”

Madam Pomfrey looked around sternly then said, “Well, out with it!What am I here for?”

Harry smiled and said, “Ron and I had a bit of a disagreement, “ Harry stopped as everyone snorted at that then continued, “Hermione and Rose tried to break it up and they ended up getting injured in the process.”

Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyes and came closer to Harry and looked over his chest then his back and finally his neck and face.Then she turned to Rose and said softly, “Where are you hurt, dear?”

Before she could reply Harry said, “Her arms and neck.She has pretty bad bruises on her upper arms as well as her wrists, and her neck.It seems to be painful when she lifts her arms high as well.And she’s been vomiting.”

Rose glared at him and Madam Pomfrey looked at him curiously before she moved over to Hermione and Hugo spoke up worriedly saying, “My dad was angry and he grabbed my mum by the arms and threw her…she hit her head pretty bad on the wall and she’s not acting herself.”

“Oh dear.” She replied looking at Hermione and the blood on the side of her face.She then did some tests with her wand and made some notes.After about 5 minutes she went into her bag and pulled out several potions for Hermione.“She has a concussion, some bruising and a laceration on her head.She needs to take these potions twice a day for three days for the concussion, and use this cream on the bruising for a week.I’ll close the laceration on her head before I go.”Then she turned and said, “Ok, Rose, dear, let’s have a look at you.”

Rose who had gone back to working on Harry turned and Madam Pomfrey indicated that she should take a seat.

“Could one of you get me a towel?” asked Madam Pomfrey and Lily went to grab one and brought it back quickly.She held it up to cover Rose and then removed Rose’s shirt with her wand and secured the towel so that she could see Rose’s neck and arms completely.Harry growled seeing all the bruises on her, while the others gasped.

Madam Pomfrey did a number of tests on her and made Rose try and move her arms in different ways to see how badly they were injured.She made some notes and then turned back to her and did a couple more tests, raising her eyebrow momentarily.She then wrote a couple more things down and turned to Harry, tutting under her breath.

“Mr. Potter, I have grown tired of fixing you after all these years.” She said sternly

“I’m sorry, Madam Pomfrey.” Replied Harry smiling, knowing that she didn’t really mind.

She ran her wand over his front and removed the remaining glass pieces all at once making him yelp in pain, “Oh, so sorry, did that hurt?” she asked innocently

Harry frowned and said, “No, I’m fine.”

She then examined his neck and then his face.Healing multiple lacerations in the process.“Could you get down and turn around please, Mr. Potter?”

Harry did as she requested and she said, “Oh.This is going to hurt a lot more than the front did.” Then she waved her wand and all the glass from his back was removed at once making him growl.She then moved him towards the middle of the room and began running tests on him, making notes in the process.When she was done running the tests she started healing him.He had a few broken ribs as well as all the cuts from the glass and some on his face from Ron.When she was done she went to her bag and pulled out some more potions and said, “You will need to take some skele-grow for the broken ribs, some pain potion and use this cream for the bruising but you should be fine in a few days.”

She then turned to Rose and said, “I have to go get the potions I need for you at St. Mungo’s as what I have with me isn’t safe for pregnant witches to take.I’ll be right back.” And she quickly left the room…

There was complete silence in the room and finally Rose squeaked, “What did she just say to me?”

Harry moved closer to Rose and rubbed his hand on her cheek then said, “She said the potions she has aren’t safe for pregnant witches.”

“But…I… does that mean…” stuttered Rose

Harry smiled and gave her a quick kiss and said softly, “I think it means that we’re pregnant Rose.”

Rose seemed to be in shock for a minute then slowly her lips started to turn up and she smiled.“Really?”

“I think so.We’ll ask her when she comes back,” Said Harry softly still rubbing his thumb on her face.

James cleared his throat to remind Harry that they were all still there and Harry turned to see many shocked faces to which he just smiled.

“Ah, Dad, care to fill the rest of us in?” asked Al

“Not much to fill you in on.This is the first Rose or I have heard this so we’re just as surprised as the rest of you.” Replied Harry smiling, now holding Rose’s hand.

“Harry, she’s only 17, she’s still a child for Merlin’s sake!” said Ginny appalled.

Harry frowned and said, “She’s not a child, Ginny. And stop acting like I planned this. All of this; falling in love with Rose, having a baby, all of it was completely unexpected; but I’m happy and Rose is happy and that’s all that matters to me.”

Rose squeezed his hand in support and Ginny sighed in frustration.Rose looked around and saw that everyone else was still processing this.Her mum was not really processing anything due to the concussion but she would talk to her about it when she was feeling better.They heard the floo activate and then Madam Pomfrey was back, “OK, Rose, I got the potions I needed for you.You will need to take a potion to fix the damage to your muscles and tendons in your arms, as well as a pain potion.Then you need to use the cream on the bruises.These potions are safe for you to take and you should take them for three days.Now, I also brought you some potion for the nausea, you should take it daily for the next 6 weeks until the end of your first trimester, and then after that you should be fine.Do you have any questions?”

“Did you say I was pregnant?” asked Rose quietly

Madam Pomfrey startled and looked at her curiously and asked, “Did you not know you were pregnant?”

Rose shook her head no

“Oh, dear.I’m so sorry, it’s just that you were so far along already that I assumed you knew.”

“How far along am I,” asked Rose?

“Six weeks.” Replied Madam Pomfrey, then she asked, “So you haven’t been to see a healer yet?”

Rose shook her head no.

“Well, you must do so right away, Rose.You need to take vitamins and get checked out, unless of course you do not want to have the baby.I could talk to you about your options if you’d like?” said Madam Pomfrey soothingly

Rose shook her head no and said, “No, you don’t have to do that.I don’t need to know about any options.I promise I’ll set up an appointment and see someone soon.”

“Good.Now, let me at least get you some vitamin potions to get you through until you’re appointment. I’ll be right back.” Said Madam Pomfrey leaving the room to floo to St. Mungo’s again.

Harry kissed the top of Rose’s head and looked up at everyone, seeing they were in shock.He knew he was going to have to answer a lot of questions but he honestly didn’t think he could be any happier right now.He just knew he was smiling like an idiot but he couldn’t help it.His life just got a whole lot more complicated but he couldn’t be more thrilled.He just hoped the others would eventually be happy for the both of them.

  


	7. Girl Time

I do not own Harry Potter.

After Madam Pomfrey had returned with the vitamin potions and left for the night, the kitchen erupted.  Everyone seemed to have something to say about the pregnancy and none of it was particularly supportive.  Harry quickly lost his patience and yelled, “Enough!”

When they settled down he continued commandingly, “We’re not going to talk to any of you about this until after Rose and I have talked about it ourselves.  I didn’t ask for any of your opinions on the matter so stop telling me what they are. Now, it’s late and we could all use a good nights sleep.  James and Al, help me get Hermione upstairs.”

It took them a minute to shake off the surprise of Harry’s comments before they started leaving the kitchen and making their way to the stairs. Harry was helping Hermione on the stairs along with James and Al. Hugo, Lily and Rose were trailing behind them while Ginny was gathering her things to leave through the floo.  She turned to the group and said, “Harry, we’re going to talk about this tomorrow.”

Harry turned to her with fire in his eyes and said, “NO. WE. ARE. NOT!  Let me make this perfectly clear to all of you…. This is a personal matter between my fiancé and I. Rose and I will let you know when we’re ready to talk to all of you about this.”

Harry didn’t wait for anyone to respond, he just turned and continued up the stairs with Hermione, leaving everyone behind. Rose passed them on the stairs and went into her closet to get her mother something to wear for bed. She walked in and was going through the drawers when someone knocked on the open door…

She looked up to see James, Al and Lily in the doorway.

“Rosie, are you OK?” asked Al quietly

She made a noncommittal grunt and nodded her head while she gathered a few things.

Lily stepped in and looked around the room in awe finally saying, “This closet is beautiful, Rose.”

Rose looked up and smiled, replying, “Yes, it is isn’t it?”

“How did you learn how to do this?” asked Lily

“I didn’t, it was a surprise from Harry.”

Lily looked curiously at Rose and said, “Really?”

Rose just nodded in response.

Lily sat down in a chair and motioned for Al and James to come in and shut the door.  They did and Rose held her breath waiting for them to start interrogating her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Lily quietly

Rose sighed and said, “It was just so unreal, Lily. Half the time I still feel like I’m dreaming and it’s been almost two months.  At first we didn’t know what it was but then when we realized how perfect we were, we didn’t want anything to ruin it.  We knew it would be a big deal for everyone and we were just trying to enjoy our relationship for a little while.  I know it was selfish but…”

“And the pregnancy?” asked Al

“What about it?” asked Rose?

“Did you plan it?” clarified Al

“Al, That’s private!” snapped Lily

Rose narrowed her eyes at Al but answered him truthfully, “No, we didn’t plan it.  But it’s also not a complete surprise.  We only forgot one time but we made the decision not to do anything about it the next day.”

“What do you mean?” asked James

“There’s something called the morning after pill, it’s a muggle contraception that you take after sex if you forgot birth control. We talked about it and decided not to take it.” Replied Rose

“But why?  That doesn’t make any sense.  If you forgot and you aren’t planning on having kids, why not just take it?” said Al

“I’m not going to go into details, Al. It’s just the decision Harry and I made.” Replied Rose getting annoyed

“Not to sound responsible or anything but Rose, how could you forget contraception?  You can take potions, or do a spell, or even use condom’s Rose…You should know all this and honestly, so should’ve my dad!” said James

“We just got caught up in the moment... We only forgot the one time but that’s apparently all it took.” Replied Rose heavily

“You’re going to keep it aren’t you?” asked Lily warily

“Yeah…”

“Bloody hell,” whispered James while Al groaned and sat down.

Lily remained silent for several minutes before sighing heavily and saying, “I’m trying to be objective about this Rose and forget that this is my Dad we’re talking about.  I’m trying to remind myself that you’re my cousin, one of my best friends and that you’ve always been there for me.  I want to do the same for you Rose. I want to support you…I really do. I just…need a little time to get used to it.  To get over the shock of all of this, I mean you’re pregnant with my Dad’s baby…. It’s a lot to take in.”

Rose was wiping tears off her face listening to Lily. She was so worried about Lily’s reaction to all this, “Do you hate me?”

Lily walked over to Rose and hugged her gently saying, “No, Rosie, I don’t hate you.  I swear.”

Rose cried on Lily’s shoulder for a few minutes before pulling away saying, “Sorry.”

Lily smiled and said, “It’s just the hormones, Rosie. Don’t worry about it.”

Rose smiled a little and nodded. Then she turned to Al and James and asked, “And you guys, do you hate me?”

They both shook their head no and James got up saying, “Of course not, Rosie.  Although I think I’m going to kick my Dad’s ass for getting you pregnant.” He then gave her a hug and let her cry on his shoulder for a few minutes.

When they broke apart Rose looked towards Al and said, “I’m sorry, Al.  I know you’re not happy about any of this.  You told me this would turn into a disaster and you were right.  I just hope you can forgive me someday.”

Rose was trying her hardest not to break down completely as she spoke to Al but she was slowly losing her composure. Al looked at her surprised by what she said and walked over to her.  He looked in her eyes and said, “Rosie, are you happy with my Dad?”

“Yes.”

“Are you happy about this baby?” he asked putting his arms around her

“Yes.”

“Then I’m happy for you.  If this is what you want, then I support you, no matter what.  Understand?” he finished by giving her a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

Rose broke down completely at this and cried for several minutes on his shoulder.  They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Harry coming in saying, “Rose, love, are you in here?”

He stopped and took in the scene in front of him then asked, “Is everything alright?”

Rose broke away from Al and wiped her face before saying, “Yeah, we were just clearing the air a little.”

He raised his eyebrows but left it alone. “Mione wants some tea, would you like anything while I’m downstairs?”

Rose smiled broadly and said, “I’m actually quite hungry, are there any leftovers?”

Harry grinned and said, “I’ll put something together for you and bring it up in a couple of minutes.”  He then looked at Lily and asked, “Lily, would you like anything?”

“No thanks, Dad.”

He then turned to leave and James huffed indignantly, “Hey what about me and Al?  Don’t you care if we want something?”

“You boys can come get yourself food if you’re hungry,” replied Harry loudly as he walked down the stairs.

“Git.” Replied James under his breath

“I heard that James,” yelled Harry

Everyone laughed at that for a minute before Rose said, “Lily, would you mind helping me change?  It’s just my arms are quite painful and I could use some help…”

“No, Rose, I don’t mind at all.” Replied Lily then she looked at her brothers and said, “Could you two leave?”

They both blushed and left the room, closing the door behind them. They headed upstairs after checking in on Hermione who was sitting up in bed looking out the window.  There were four bedrooms on the upper floor, one guest room and one each for James, Al and Lily.  Hugo was currently in the guest room waiting for them to come up.

“Is my sister OK?” asked Hugo

“Yeah, she seems alright,” replied Al

“Good.  My Mum seems better as well.  I wonder when she’s going to remember that Rose is pregnant,” smirked Hugo

They all chuckled at that, knowing that Hermione would go nuts when she remembered.  Lily then came up and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“We’re just thinking about what my Mum is going to be like when she finds out that Rose is pregnant.” Said Hugo

Lily grimaced slightly and headed towards her room when James stopped her and asked, “Should I get a camp bed out for Rose …”

She looked at him questioningly and he said, “Oh yeah, I guess she doesn’t need it…”

“So weird,” Said Hugo

“Yeah,” replied Al shaking his head and walking into his room

“You know we used to talk about stuff, Rose and I, but now I can’t help but think I don’t want to anymore.  I mean if we’re talking about sex, I won’t be able to stop myself from thinking she does whatever she’s talking about with my Dad! I just can’t think about Dad like that, EVER.  It’s so gross.” Said Lily shaking an invisible shiver off.

Hugo and James laughed but Al said, “Why would you talk to Rose about sex, Lily?”

Lily rolled her eyes and said, “Would you rather I talk to you about it, Al?  Perhaps you can tell me the best way to give a blowjob, or maybe a new position you’ve tried out lately?”  At his completely shocked look she continued, “No?  I didn’t think so.  Good night boys.” And then she slammed the door to her room leaving the three of them gaping at her and completely speechless.

Quick as a flash Al was running down the stairs, causing a ruckus.  When he reached the ground floor, Harry had come out of the kitchen, “What’s wrong?”

“What? Nothing, Why?” asked Al distractedly

“Because you just ran down the stairs sounding like a herd of Hippogriff’s that’s why!  What the hell are you doing?  Hermione and Rose need to rest!” snapped Harry

Al quickly turned sheepish and said, “Sorry. Its just Lily…said some things to me… and I need to talk to Scorpius.  I was going to floo call him.”

Harry was shaking his head and said, “No can do. The floo is locked for the night to keep Mione and Rose safe.  It’s going to have to wait until the morning.”

“But Dad!” whined Al

Harry went back into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of food and a tray of tea, handing one to Al to carry.  “No, Al.  What’s got you so worked up anyway?  It’s not like you don’t talk to Scorpius everyday, surely this can wait until the morning.”

Al blushed and said, “Lily said … well nothing I’m going to repeat but it’s not something you ever want to hear your sister say! Never mind think about her ever doing!  I just wanted Scorpius to know that she was never to do those things, EVER!”

Harry laughed and said, “Are we talking about sex, Al?”

Al huffed and said, “If she just said sex, I could maybe handle that but she DIDN’T!  She said…other stuff! And I won’t have it!  Not my sister, no way!  She shouldn’t even know what those words mean!”

Harry frowned and replied, “Well, I probably don’t want to know what she said then.  I’m sure she was just trying to push your buttons Al, you know how she likes to do that to you.”

Al just grunted in response so Harry continued, “Look Al, after everything we’ve been through with Lily these past couple of months, you should know that she’s not a little girl anymore.  She’s already told us she plans on having sex with Scorpius.  You just need to trust her and try not to think about it too much.  She’s going to do whatever she wants whether we like it or not, so wouldn’t you rather her talk to you about it than hide everything?”

Al sighed and said, “I guess.  But I still don’t like it.  Why can’t she be one of those muggle nuns or something?”

Harry laughed and said, “Al, will you bring that into Rose, while I drop this off for Hermione?”  He then walked off to Hermione’s room and left Al in front of his bedroom.  The door was closed and Al was quite uncomfortable with the whole situation.  “It’s just a plate of food, for your cousin Rose.” He kept telling himself this over and over again until finally he knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

“Hey, my Dad wanted me to bring this in for you…” said Al shyly looking down at the floor.

Before he knew it the plate was snatched out of his hands and he looked up to see Rose sitting on the edge of the bed happily eating.  “Merlin, I don’t think I’ve ever been this hungry before.”

Al couldn’t help but laugh at her.  She looked like she was in heaven and she kept making all these noises every time she took a bite.  He shook his head and said, “Right then, I’m off to bed. Night.”

“Good night, Al.  Thanks for this!” replied Rose

He passed his Dad on the way to his room and just smiled at him.  Al was so thankful that it wasn’t his girlfriend that was pregnant.  In fact he was going to write her now and see if they could get together soon, he was surprised to realize that he missed her.

Harry came into the bedroom and closed the door. He smiled at the sight of Rose happily eating in front of him.  She looked up and saw him watching her and immediately stopped eating, looking sheepish.  She got up quickly and said, “I’m sorry Harry, I shouldn’t be eating on your bed.”

Harry frowned and said, “Rose, sit down, finish eating. And it’s our bed. You can do whatever you want in it…but hopefully with me in it as well.”

She smiled at him and sat back down to finish eating. Harry went to wash up and told her, “The floo is locked and Mione is doing much better.  How are you feeling, love?”

“I’m doing OK.  My arms are still really sore, I had to have Lily help me change my clothes but other than that I’m feeling alright.” Replied Rose

Harry came back in and gave her a quick kiss as she put her empty plate down.  He got into bed and shut off the lights, turning to her to say, “I’m glad you’re feeling better, love.  I’m sorry things went so badly tonight though.”

Rose moved so that she was lying on her side facing Harry and she reached over and pulled him in for a kiss replying, “It’s not your fault, Harry.  We both knew my Dad would lose his temper. We just didn’t realize how much… Do you think he’ll ever get over this?”

“I hope so,” replied Harry softly

“Enough about my Dad.  What do you think about the baby?” asked Rose nervously

Harry smiled so brightly that it was clear how happy he was but he said it anyway, “I’m really happy, Rose.  Are you?”

Rose nodded her head enthusiastically, and said, “Yeah, I am.  I was so surprised but as soon as I got over the shock I was instantly excited!  Doesn’t that seem strange?  I mean I’m so young and there are so many complications…but I’m nothing but happy right now!”

Harry smiled and pulled her close to him and began kissing her gently.  This kiss grew in passion quickly and Harry took his time kissing all over her body. He stopped when he got to her stomach and whispered, “Hello, little one, I’m your Daddy.  Mummy and I are so excited about you and we want you to know how much we love you and we can’t wait to meet you.  Now I need you to be good to your Mum while you’re in there and I promise I will take care of you both.  Good night little one.” He then placed a single kiss on her belly before moving down her body.  It was such a tender moment that Rose was wiping tears off her face.  They spent the next hour making love gently, whispering words of love between each other until they fell asleep naked in each other’s arms.

Hermione woke up with the worst headache she had ever had.  She felt horrible and groaned trying to cover her eyes from the rays of sun shining on her. She decided to crawl out of bed and find something for the pain.  It wasn’t until she got up to go to the bathroom that she realized she wasn’t home…what the hell?  She looked around thoroughly confused for several minutes until she remembered she was at Harry’s.  Her memories were quite fuzzy but she did remember that things had gone horribly wrong last night and she hit her head, which would explain her confusion. 

Groaning again she made her way to the bathroom and searched in vain for a pain potion.  Deciding she needed to find something soon, she headed downstairs. She didn’t care that she only had on a tank top and these miniscule stretch shorts that she borrowed from Rose, all she cared about was making the pain in her head stop.  She made it to the kitchen and was relieved to see many potion vials on the counter.  She read a note that indicated which potions were Hermione’s and quickly drank one.  She then put her forehead on the counter and closed her eyes waiting for the potion to take effect.

Al had woken up suddenly and he couldn’t quite figure out why. He was having a very naughty dream involving a beautiful girl. Huffing, he climbed out of bed, went to the bathroom and decided to head downstairs for some breakfast. Just as he got to the bottom of the stairs, there was a knock on the door.   Peeking through the window he saw a couple of Aurors and opened the door, forgetting all he had on was his boxers. “Shit, it’s freezing out!”

The two Aurors laughed and came in, shutting the door quickly.  Al knew from his Dad that these were two of his best Aurors.  “Morning, Al.”

“Hey.  What brings you guys here?” asked Al curiously

“The Minister asked us to stay with Mrs. Weasley for the day.  He said she was staying here, is she awake yet?” replied the Auror Al knew to be Michael.

“Not sure.  I just got up.  Let’s check the kitchen and see if she’s in there.” Replied Al walking towards the kitchen.  He entered the kitchen swinging the door open and immediate froze in place, causing the two Aurors to walk right into him.  In front of him was his ‘Aunt’ but she was bent over the counter and she was barely wearing any clothes! Surely it was illegal for his Aunt to be this sexy! He was brought out of his stupor by one of the Aurors clearing their throat making Hermione turn around quickly.

“Ughhh,” groaned Hermione holding her head with one hand and the counter with the other.  Moving that fast was not a good idea.  She waited a minute for the dizziness and throbbing to fade, then opened her eyes. She saw Al and two Aurors behind him and was confused, but the more she looked at Al, the more concerned she grew. She quickly made her way to him and said, “Al, sweetheart, are you feeling OK?  You’re all flush.  Do you have a fever?” She then started feeling his head and chest, making Al jump back away from her touch.

The two Aurors smirked and Al said quickly, “I’m fine, Auntie, really.”

She narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief but let it go.  She then looked up at the Aurors and asked, “Do you need me to go wake Harry for you?”

“No, Mrs. Weasley, we’re actually here for you. The Minister has asked us to stay with you today.”

Hermione frowned but nodded.  She then said, “Have a seat.  Would you like any juice or tea?”

“No, Ma’am.  Thank you, though.”

She really hated being called Ma’am; it made her feel so old.  She frowned and turned to make some tea and asked, “Al, do you want me to make you some breakfast?”

Al cleared his throat and said, “No, Auntie. You should sit and relax. How are feeling?”

Hermione continued to make her tea saying, “I have a terrible headache and everything that happened last night is still quite fuzzy.”

“Yeah, it was a crazy night.” Replied Al running his hand through his hair.

James came in and stopped halfway through the kitchen when he saw Hermione, making her raise her eyebrows at him, “Good morning James.”

“Ah…Morning Auntie.” Said James uncomfortably looking anywhere but at her.

Confused, Hermione huffed and asked, “What is with you boys today?”

Just then Hugo came in, took one look at his mother and screeched, “MUM, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!”  He quickly turned away from her and she looked down confused, then realized she was showing a fair amount of cleavage and was basically in her underwear.

“Oh Merlin.  I’m so sorry, boys! No wonder you were having a hard time talking to me! I can’t imagine how horrifying it must be to see your Aunt dressed like this.  I’ll just go change, now.  So Sorry.” Hermione said scurrying out of the room quickly, completely embarrassed.

“Gross.  I don’t think I’m every going to get over seeing so much of my Mum.” Said Hugo disgusted

“I wouldn’t exactly say gross.” Said James smirking, making Hugo smack him on the back of his head.

“That’s my mother, you prat!” snapped Hugo

James just smirked and looked at Al who was blushing profusely, making James burst out laughing. 

“What?” asked Hugo looking up at them

“Nothing!” said Al quickly

James laughed some more then proceeded to get some breakfast.  He sat down with some cereal and turned to the Aurors and asked, “What are you guys doing here, besides enjoying the scenery?”

“JAMES!” yelled Hugo pissed off

The aurors smirked and told them why they were there. When they were finished, Hugo asked, “So when do you think my Mum is going to remember Rose is pregnant?”

“Not sure.  She said everything was fuzzy from last night.  Maybe they’ll have to tell her again.” Replied Al

Just then they heard Hermione yell from three flights up, “HARRY JAMES POTTER!”

The boys all looked at each other, laughed and then bolted quickly up the stairs to see what Hermione was going to do to Harry, with the Aurors following behind.

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!  YOU GET UP THIS INSTANT!” yelled Hermione walking towards Harry’s room.  When she banged on it, there was no answer, so she went to open it to find it locked.

“WHERE’S MY WAND!” yelled Hermione storming past the boys to the room she stayed in to get her wand.  She was back quickly working multiple spells to open the door, getting increasingly frustrated the longer it took.  “HARRY JAMES POTTER YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!”

She threw the door open to reveal Harry and Rose quite naked and still asleep.  This seemed to infuriate her further and she screeched, “HARRY JAMES POTTER HOW DARE YOU!”

Harry and Rose jumped at the noise and quickly pulled the blankets up to cover themselves.  Harry looked guilty but slightly amused while Rose looked mortified.

“WOULD YOU CARE TO EXPLAIN TO ME HOW MY 17 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER IS PREGNANT!” screamed Hermione

Harry raised his eyebrow at her amused and she stamped her foot in anger and stormed over to him jabbing him with her wand in the chest, yelling, “Don’t you dare give me any cheek, Harry!  What on earth were you thinking!”

“Hermione.” Said Harry simply

She waited a moment and when he didn’t continue she snapped, “DAMNIT HARRY ANSWER ME!”

“My fiancé and I would like to get dressed first. Do you think you could give us a moment?” asked Harry ominously

Hermione clenched her jaw then turned and walked out of the bedroom, snapping, “Hurry up,” as she closed the door behind her. She then proceeded back to her room to finish getting changed. 

The two Aurors in the hall downstairs were in complete shock that someone just spoke to Harry Potter like that.  They weren’t sure why the Minister thought that this witch needed anyone to protect her, she clearly could handle her own. Smirking they made their way back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Al, James, and Hugo entered the kitchen and sat down waiting for Hermione to rip into Harry.  A minute later Lily entered and said, “I take it she just remembered?”

“Yeah,” replied Hugo smiling

“You know, you really are enjoying your sister getting in trouble far too much, Hugo.” Replied Lily shaking her head.

Hugo frowned and said, “Not really. I certainly didn’t enjoy last night.”

They all frowned and Harry entered the kitchen with Hermione right behind him.

“I just don’t understand, Harry.  What were you thinking?” asked Hermione exasperated.

Harry sighed and went to pour some tea, “Hermione, we didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Harry!  You’re an adult for goodness sake!  You both are!  How could you forget contraception?  It’s ridiculous!” replied Hermione

“Merlin’s pants Hermione!  I’m sorry I didn’t remember to cast a contraception charm when my best friends gorgeous 17-year old daughter was tearing my clothes off!  Christ, do you want to me to show you my memory so you can point out the correct time that I should have cast the spell!” yelled Harry annoyed

Hermione, properly chastised was speechless for a moment.  When she spoke again it was in a soft tone and she said, “I’m sorry Harry.  I… I just… I’m sorry.”

Harry looked at her harshly for a minute then nodded and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. He pulled back and said, “Hermione, it really was an accident.  We only forgot the one time but here we are…”

Hermione nodded and they turned when Rose entered, smiling shyly at her mother.

“So, how mad are you?” asked Rose

“Oh, Rose,” said Hermione enveloping her in a hug while fighting off crying

Rose had no such luck and was sobbing in her mother’s arms. “Mum, please don’t be mad.  It was an accident, and even though we didn’t plan it, we’re still happy about it.”

Hermione started crying now and said, “Oh, sweetheart, I’m not mad at you.  It’s just such a surprise and you’re so young.  It’s going to be so hard to continue your education with a baby. I don’t want you to have to give up your dreams…Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m positive Mum, and I won’t be giving up my dreams. There’s no reason why I can’t have a baby and still continue my education.  I promise, Mum, I won’t disappoint you.” Replied Rose earnestly

Hermione looked shocked and said seriously, “Rose, you could never disappoint me.  Never.”

They spent a few minutes hugging when Hugo spoke up and said, “So, Mum do you prefer Grandma or Nana?”

When Hermione looked horrified at the prospect and didn’t respond he continued, “And does this mean that Uncle Harry has to call you Mum now?”

Harry groaned and everyone snickered in the background while Hermione opened and closed her mouth much like a fish.

The next few days everyone stayed close to Grimmauld Place. Harry had only gone to work for a few hours each day, while Rose recovered. James, Al, Hugo and Lily had all surprisingly stayed as well, not seeming to want to leave and go back home.

Ron had been told by Kingsley in no uncertain terms to stay away and that when Hermione was ready she would go see him. She had Aurors rotating around the clock protecting her, which she thought, was ridiculous but Kingsley wouldn’t listen to any of her complaints. Hermione was still staying at Grimmauld Place. 

She wanted some more time before she talked with Ron, even though he had tried several times to reach her at the ministry.

 

Rose had been depressed the last couple days and Lily couldn't really blame her.  She would be devastated if her Dad had done half the things that her uncle Ron had done to Rose.  Lily was going to go out shopping today and was hoping she would be able to get Rose to join her.  With her mind made up she went in search of Rose, finding her in the kitchen....

 

“Hey, Rose, do you have any plans for the day?”

 

“No, I was just going to hang out here,” replied Rose.

 

“Well, change of plans, I need you to come shopping with me,” said Lily confidently.

 

Rose groaned and said, “Lily, I'm not really in the mood to go shopping.”

 

“Please, Rose I need someone to tell me what looks good,” whined Lily.

 

“Lily, everything looks good on you,” replied Rose staring at her beautiful cousin.

 

“No it doesn't,” denied Lily and then she continued quietly, “and besides this is different.... I'm buying something to wear for Scorpius tonight.”

 

Rose looked questioningly to Lily who clarified, “Lingerie, I'm buying lingerie to wear for Scorpius tonight and I've never bought any before.”

 

Rose smirked and asked, “Is there something you've forgot to mention to me Miss Potter?”

 

“No, I mean we haven't slept together yet, but I was hoping we would tonight,” said Lily blushing.

 

Rose smiled brightly and said, “Oh all right, I'll come with you. I could use a few things as well.”

 

Lily squealed in delight and said, “Go get ready then!”

 

Rose laughed as she headed out of the kitchen.  As she passed the living room she saw Al and his girlfriend Bridget.  “Hey guys, Lily and I are heading out to go shopping in a bit, so you should have the house to yourselves for a while.”

 

“Sweet,” said Al looking at his girlfriend

 

Bridget giggled, turned to Rose and asked, “Where are you going shopping?”

 

Rose frowned and said, “I have no idea; we're going lingerie shopping though.”

 

Al' s eyebrows Rose considerably and Bridget smirked replying, “I hear there's a new store in Diagonal Ally that sells lingerie, you should check it out.  I've been dying to go, but just haven't had the time.”

 

“Do you want to come with us,” asked Rose?

 

Bridget looked to Al with big puppy dog eyes and he sighed knowing his plans of shagging his girlfriend all day were gone....

 

“Please Alby,” begged Bridget. Then she whispered in his ear, making him shiver, “I promise I'll try whatever I buy on for you tonight.”

 

He smiled and said, “Deal.”

 

Bridget gave him a passionate kiss before leaping up off the couch.

 

Rose smiled and said, “I'm just going to get changed, Lily's in the kitchen.  I'll be right back.”

 

Bridget and Al went into the kitchen and found Lily eating a bowl of cereal.

 

Bridget sat down at the table across from Lily and said, “Lily, I hope you don't mind that Rose invited me to come shopping with you two. I heard about this new place in Diagonal Ally that sells lingerie that I wanted to look at.”

 

 “Cool. I was planning on going to Harrods; do you have a preference where we go first?”

 

“No, it doesn’t make a difference to me at all.”

 

“I'm afraid to know who the lingerie shopping is for,” said Al pensively.

 

“It's for me, I want to get something nice to wear for Scorpius,” said Lily nonplussed.

 

“Lily!  Merlin I said I don't want to know!” screeched Al much like a girl.

 

Lily and Bridget were laughing when James walked in and asked, “What's so funny?”

 

“Your sister is going lingerie shopping to get something to wear for Scorpius,” snapped Al.

 

“What!” yelled James?

 

“Oh don't get your panties in a twist you two, it’s not like I’m a virgin,” replied Lily bluntly.

 

“Lily!” Growled James and Al at the same time.

 

“Get over it,” replied Lily rolling her eyes at them.

 

Before they could respond, Rose walked back into the kitchen and Lily quickly pulled her to the floo, so she could escape her over protective brothers.  Bridget gave Al a quick kiss and then they were all gone.

 

“That’s just disturbing on so many levels,” said James shaking his head.

 

“Yeah, the options are my sister buying lingerie for her boyfriend, my cousin buying lingerie for my Dad or my girlfriend buying lingerie for me... Wait I like that option,” smirked Al.

 

“Yeah, well none of those options do anything for me,” replied James morosely.

 

Lily, Rose, and Bridget were perusing aisles of lingerie in Harrods...

 

“So, Lily what made you decide tonight was the night with Scorpius,” asked Rose curiously?

 

“Yeah I was surprised you hadn't been together already,” said Bridget, then she continued, “I mean he's really good looking and I know girls throw themselves at him all the time...wait that didn't come out the right way,” she finished flustered.

 

Lily smiled indulgently and said, “Its ok Bridget, I know what you mean. I'm surprised he's waited this long, I've seen the things girls try to do to get him to stray.  He's been incredibly sweet and patient with me.   I guess I just decided I didn't want to wait anymore.”

 

The girls proceeded to the dressing rooms with handfuls of things to try on.  Bridget seemed to only want to try on blue pieces to bring out her eye color, while Rose was trying on only baby doll type pieces. Lily knew this was because she was self-conscious about having a large belly as the baby started to grow. Lily on the other hand had no idea what style or color she was looking for so she grabbed a little bit of everything. 

 

After Rose and Bridget found several pieces each they moved on to helping Lily, making her show them each piece she tried on. After several tries Lily came out in a white lace set that was perfect. It was a fitted tank that pushed her up nicely and stopped halfway down her abdomen showing off her belly button then she had on a pair of boy shorts that we're very low cut and purposely didn't cover her completely in the back. With her fiery red hair and blazing green eyes she looked stunning.  Rose and Bridget squealed in delight and said, “Lily that's perfect!”

 

Lily finished trying on the rest of her things just to make sure and managed to find another amazing set. It was a dark green corset, which she paired with a matching thong and a garter belt.  It was the exact opposite of the first set, which screamed innocence, whereas this set screamed sexy.  Rose and Bridget insisted she get both and where the one that fit her mood at the time.

 

After Harrods they headed to Diagon Ally and went straight to the new lingerie store.  It was quite busy but they were able to find several more things each.  The store had a section geared towards muggleborn wizards and Rose ended up getting an outfit that was fashioned like the playboy bunnies, which she knew were very popular in the muggle world.  She wasn't sure if Harry ever had a thing for them but she looked pretty good in the outfit so she bought it for him. 

 

Lily ended up getting an outfit complete with angel wings fashioned after the Victoria's secret models while Bridget got this very interesting black leather outfit complete with handcuffs. All in all the girls had tons of fun and the trip did a lot of good in lifting Rose out of her depression.

 

When they returned home, the girls split up and Rose decided to make some phone calls.  She'd been delaying going to a healer for some reason and finally realized today she didn't want to go to a healer. She didn't want to be harassed at St. Mungo's and have everyone know every little thing about her pregnancy and her life with Harry.  She didn't want any part of it, so she had made up her mind to go to muggle doctor for her pregnancy. She just needed to find one and make an appointment. She thought she would start by asking her mom and go from there.  After talking with her mum, she talked with Madam Pomfrey, then with the muggle liaison office at St. Mungo’s and finally two hours later she had an appointment with her new doctor for tomorrow morning.  She just hoped that Harry would be able to come with her. With all that accomplished she decided she was dead tired and needed a nap. She was roused from her sleep sometime later...

 

"Rose" said Harry quietly before kissing her nose

 

Rose stretched and opened her eyes lazily, and then smiled and said, “you're home.”

 

“Yeah I just got in. Are you feeling ok?” Asked Harry worriedly

 

“Much better now,” replied Rose pulling him down for a kiss.

 

Harry chuckled then pulled back a little looking into her eyes and said, “Now seriously, tell me how you're feeling.”

 

“I'm good.  I went out shopping today with Lily and Bridget and I feel much better,” replied Rose honestly.

 

“I was going to see if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight, but why don't we stay in and take it easy,” said Harry.

 

Rose stretched and replied, “No, I think we should go out.  We've been cooped up for days.”

 

“If you're sure,” replied Harry questioningly.

 

“I am. Just give me an hour to get ready,” replied Rose getting up, and then she turned back and asked shyly, “Harry, do you have time tomorrow to come to an appointment with me?”

 

Harry looked bemused and said, “Of course Rose. What's the appointment for?”

 

“Well, I was thinking how crazy it was going to be for us at St. Mungo's, so I've decided to go to a muggle OB/GYN. If you don't mind, that is.”

 

“Are you sure that's what you want? You're not just doing this to avoid going to St. Mungo's because we could figure something out....”

 

“No, I want to do it this way, Harry, I really do.  It will be a new experience for the both of us.”

 

“Alright...what time is the appointment?”

 

“It's at 10:00 am.”

 

“Ok, I'll just go in late tomorrow then.”

 

“Thanks Harry!” Said Rose excitedly, and then she gave him a passionate kiss, leaving him breathless.

 

“Anytime, love, anytime...”

 

She kissed him tenderly one more time then headed to the bathroom to shower.

 

Harry changed out of his work clothes and then headed downstairs to find Al and James in the living room. They stopped talking when Harry entered making him raise his eyebrow at them.  “Boys, I thought we were over this.”

 

They both looked at him questioningly, so he continued, “Me and Rose, I thought you were both ok with us?”

 

James smiled and said, “We are Dad. We weren't talking about you, we were talking about Lily.”

 

“James,” said Al warningly.

 

“Al, maybe Dad will have a better view on all this than we do…”

 

“I doubt it,” replied Al grumpily.

 

“Why don't you tell me and then you'll know,” interjected Harry.

 

“Lily went lingerie shopping for Scorpius and we’re pretty freaked out,” said James quickly.

 

Harry immediately frowned and tensed his jaw, brooding for several minutes before finally saying, “Yes, well, I see what you mean.”

 

“Dad, can't you just ban her from having sex,” said Al desperately.

 

Harry smiled and said, “I don't think that would work Al.”

 

“What if you told Scorpius he couldn't have sex with her,” said James hopefully.

 

Harry thought about it for a minute before replying, “As much as I would love to do that, I don't think Lily would appreciate it.  Look boys, Lily needs to make these decisions for herself.  Telling her she can't do something is only going to make her want to do it sooner.  She already told us that she was planning on taking this step with Scorpius and she’s being smart about it.  She's on birth control.   As much as I dislike the idea, it’s not up to us to decide when she has sex. We have to trust her.”

 

“It’s not her I don't trust,” said Al with James nodding in agreement.

 

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “Perhaps we should have a little chat with Scorpius then.”

 

Al and James both smirked evilly in reply.

 

Harry noticed this so added, “Nothing crazy now boys.... Just a reminder of how we expect Lily to be treated.”

 

“Of course Dad,” replied James smirking.

 

“I'm going to go do some work in my office, let me know when he's here,” said Harry leaving the room.

 

Rose was in her dressing room looking for something to wear when there was a knock and Lily poked her head in, “Rose?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Lily opened the door, stepped in and then closed it behind her.  She had a robe on and a few outfits in her hand. “Would you help me decide what to wear tonight?”

 

Rose smiled and said, “I'd love to Lily.”

 

“Oh thank Merlin. I must have tried on a dozen outfits already but these are my favorites.” Replied Lily holding up the clothes.

 

Rose sat down on the couch and waved her hand then said, "Well try them on already."

 

Lily smiled and tried on the first outfit, which was a black fitted dress.  It was tight, short and left little to the imagination.

 

Rose wrinkled her nose and said, “No not that one, it makes you look cheap.”

 

Lily snorted and said, “Rose, why don't you tell me what you really think about it.”

 

Rose looked a little ashamed and said, “Sorry.”

 

“No, don't be, it's fine. Let me try the others on.” She changed into a denim mini skirt and a dark green v-neck sweater. The sweater was fitted and a little low cut but not too much, just enough to show a little cleavage.

 

“I like it,” said Rose smiling. “It’s sexy but not too much...”

 

“I like it too, but let me try on the others, just in case they're better.”

 

Lily tried on two more outfits, one was a gold sequin tank top with black fitted jeans, which looked great on her and the other was a white baby doll dress, which also looked good. Having at least cast off the black dress, Lily was standing in her white lace lingerie considering her options when she asked, “Rose can I look at your shoes?”

 

“Sure, go ahead.”

 

Lily walked onto the smaller shoe room just as there was another knock on the door, “Yeah?” Called Rose

 

Al opened the door and said, “Hey Rose, have you seen Lily, she not in her room?”

 

Rose nodded and said, “She’s in here looking at my shoes.”

 

“Oh good,” said Al then he turned and yelled, “James she’s in here.”

 

Seconds later both Al and James came in and before she could tell them both that Lily wasn’t finished dressing, Lily came out with two pairs of shoes in her hands, asking, “What's all the commotion?”

 

“Lily,” gasped Al, quickly turning around.

 

“Put something on for Merlin's sake, Lily,” snapped James!

 

Lily raised her eyebrow and replied defiantly, “I have something on and you're the ones that barged in here.”

 

“Lily, can you just get dressed!” Huffed Al

 

“No, I can't, because I haven't figured out what I'm wearing yet!” Snapped Lily angrily.

 

Groaning, James walked over to some outfits that were laid out and grabbed the white dress and handed it to her saying, “Here. Now get dressed!”

 

Lily huffed but put the dress on then held up the two pairs of shoes she picked out and Rose pointed to silver sparkly ones. Now fully dressed she turned to her brothers and said, "Merlin Al, you can turn around now! It's not like you two have never seen me in a bikini.”

 

“It's not the same!” Yelled Al

 

Lily rolled her eyes and said, “What do you two want anyway?”

 

“We want to talk to you about Scorpius,” said Al.

 

Lily put her hands on her hips and said, “What about him?”

 

“Are you sleeping with him,” asked James?

 

“That's none of your business!”

 

“Are you?” Asked Al

 

“No.”

 

“But you're planning to?” Asked James

 

“This is SO not your business! Do I ask you two about your sex lives?” snapped Lily.

 

“We were under the impression you didn't have a sex life to discuss Lily.” Growled Al.

 

“How dare you! Both of you! You sleep with every witch who crosses your path, but you have the nerve to try and dictate what I can do!” yelled Lily.

 

At this point Rose felt she should intervene and said, “Guys, was there something specific you wanted to tell Lily, because maybe you should just say it.”

 

Al glared at Rose while James took a deep breath to calm him down.

 

“Lily we just wanted to talk to you a little and make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into. You're our baby sister; we're just trying to look out for you.” Said James genuinely

 

That seemed to calm Lily down a little and she smiled at James for a minute before replying, “I'm not a virgin guys.”

 

Al clenched his jaw then growled, “But that wasn't your choice.”

 

Lily glared at her brother but before she could reply James cut in and said, “Well it’s our duty as your brothers to talk to you about what's acceptable...”

 

“To whom?” Asked Lily

 

Al raised his eyebrow at her but let it pass.  “There are certain things that are not acceptable and you need to know this... For example, you should never allow someone to videotape you or take pictures of you...”

 

“Or hurt you.  Any type of pain should not be tolerated.” Added James

 

“Right.” Agreed Al, then he continued, “You shouldn't be made to do anything you don't want to do. No means no Lily.”

 

“I know.” Said Lily quietly

 

“You should never be punished or humiliated, ever.” Said James

 

“Guys, I appreciate this I really do, but this is Scorpius we’re talking about.  I trust him.  We've done everything except have sex already; I think I would know by now if he were into these sorts of things.” Replied Lily blushing.

 

“We know that you trust him, but that doesn't mean we do.” Replied James

 

“If he tries to hurt you, come to us. Please Lily, no questions asked, we promise.” Pleaded Al.

 

Lily nodded and then walked over to her brothers and hugged each of them, saying, “I'll be fine guys, don't worry about me so much.”

 

Al smiled and replied, “We just don't want anything else to happen to you... We still feel terrible about what happened with…”

 

“Don't.” Replied Lily cutting him off.

 

Al nodded and stepped back.

 

“You look beautiful, Lily,” said James quietly.

 

She smiled and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

 

“You do, Lily. I think that dress is perfect. Good choice, James!” Smirked Rose

 

Then they all heard Harry yelling up the stairs, “Al, James, can you come downstairs?”

 

They smirked at each other and James said, “We’ll let you know when Scorpius is here Lils.”

 

She didn’t catch the mischievous gleam in their eyes as they left the room…

Scorpius went to collect Lily for their date at her house and was met by her Dad.  This was completely normal, however, he seemed unusually serious and when Scorpius said “Hello,” he simply grunted and called James and Al down. Scorpius was feeling a little nervous, although he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what was going on…

The three of them came into the living room and motioned for Scorpius to sit down, which he did somewhat reluctantly.

“Look, Scorpius, you’ve been seeing Lily for a while now, right?” said Harry

“Yeah…”

“And what may I ask do you think of my daughter?”

Scorpius gulped, this seemed like a trick question, “Sir?”

“Do you like her, love her, lust after her…which is it?” asked Harry seriously

“I love her,” replied Scorpius easily.

“He could just be saying that to make us happy,” added James.

“True…” replied Harry

“I am not!” yelled Scorpius

“Al, what do you think?” asked James

“I don’t know.  I mean he acts like he loves her but that may be just for show.” Replied Al.

“Are you serious, Al?  You know I love your sister!  Think about all the girls that have thrown themselves at me, have I every taken any of them up on their offers?” snapped Scorpius.

“No, you haven’t.  Which makes me wonder why?” replied Al

“Because I love Lily!”

“Fine, let’s just say you do love her, if you’re not having sex with these other witches, then you must be having sex with my sister, right?” asked James

“Right, wait, no not right.  I do love her, but we’re not having sex.” Replied Scorpius nervously.

“You’re not having sex with who?” replied James

“Lily.”

“Then who are you having sex with?” asked Al

“What? No one.  I just said that.” Replied Scorpius

“No you said you weren’t having sex with Lily.” Said James

“Right.” Replied Scorpius

“So who are you having sex with?” asked Al

“No one!  I’m not having sex with anyone!” yelled Scorpius.

“So let me get this straight.  You’re a 16 year old bloke who’s not having sex with anyone?” asked James

“Yes.”

“Are you gay?”

“NO!”

“Are you sure?”

“YES!”

“You seem awfully defensive.” Replied James

“I wonder why?” replied Scorpius sarcastically.

“Alright boys, I think that’s enough.” Said Harry. He waited a minute to let everyone settle down before he continued, “Scorpius, have you had sex with my daughter?”

“No.”

“Do you plan on having sex with my daughter?”

“Uh…”

Harry raised his eyebrows at that response and waited for Scorpius to continue

“Sir... I… I’m not going to lie, I definitely wouldn’t say no to her, but Lily said she wasn’t ready for that.  I love her and I told her I would wait, so that’s what I’m going to do.” Replied Scorpius blushing

“Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“Are you a virgin?” asked James

“No.”

“Are you rough with your witches?” asked James

Harry actually groaned, not really wanting to hear any of this

“No, I’m not.” Replied Scorpius

“I expect you to treat my sister gently. You will not hurt her or manhandle her or leave marks on her.  Understood?” threatened James

“I would never hurt her.” Replied Scorpius sincerely

“No S&M whatsoever.”

“What’s that?” asked Scorpius

“If you don’t know then I don’t need to worry about you doing it to my sister.” Replied James then he continued, “No photos or videos.  Got it?”

“Yes.”

“You will use protection.  Every single time, Right?”

“Of course.”

“She says stop and you stop.  No questions asked.”

“Absolutely.”

“Ok, that’s all I got.  Did I miss anything?” James asked Al and Harry

“That was all very disturbing James, I really don’t want to know what you do with your witches.” Replied Al

James grinned evilly.

“Yes, that was quite enlightening James, perhaps I should have a separate conversation with you.” Said Harry darkly.

James laughed heartily in response.

“May I ask why you’re talking to me about this now? I’ve been seeing Lily for over 6 months…Both James and Al know how long people usually wait before they have sex and it’s usually much sooner than 6 months.” Asked Scorpius curiously.

“Lily’s been very honest with us and has told us she hasn’t had sex with you, but as it’s been 6 months we thought it was time for a serious chat with you.” Replied Harry.

“Sure, I understand.  I love her very much so whatever I have to do to prove that to you is fine with me.” Replied Scorpius sincerely.

Harry nodded and Al muttered “kiss ass” under his breath, making James laugh.

“Will one of you go get your sister now?” said Harry annoyed.

James was closest to the stairs so he got their the quickest but Al still tried to push him out of the way and they continued to fight the whole way up the stairs.

Shoving each other, they stumbled into Rose’s dressing room laughing.

“Lily, Scorpius is here.” Said Al catching his breath.

“Ok, I’ll be down in a minute,” replied Lily

They were both stunned by how beautiful she looked. She had fixed her hair and added a little makeup since they went downstairs.

“What?” asked Lily when she saw their dumbfounded expressions?

“You look beautiful.” Replied James genuinely

“Thank you,” said Lily slightly blushing.

“He doesn’t deserve you, Lils, no one does.” Said Al

“I think you two are slightly biased but I appreciate the thought.” Replied Lily smiling.

“Alright, any last minute questions about anything? Positions? Foreplay? Dos and Don’ts? Anything at all?” asked Rose

“Rose!” yelled both Al and James

Lily laughed and said, “No, I’m good.”

“Did you take your potion?” asked Rose

“Yes.”

“Did you take some muggle pain medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, why does she need pain medicine?” asked Al

“It will dull the pain.” Replied Rose simply

“Oh.  Is it always painful?” asked Al

“No, but if it’s been a while or if you’re still getting used to sex, it can be.  Or if you have sex for a long time, or if he’s really big, or…”

“Alright, I get it.  Please don’t say anymore.  I really don’t want to picture my sister in any of those scenarios.” Replied Al mortified.

Rose giggled in response.

Harry knocked on the door and poked his head in asking, “Lily are you coming down, Scorpius is waiting for you?”

“Yeah Dad, I’m coming now,” said Lily stepping through the doorway.

“Look at you, all grown up.” said Harry smiling

“Don’t worry Dad, I’ll still ask you for money,” replied Lily smiling back.

Harry chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders walking her down the hall towards the stairs.  “You look lovely sweetheart.”

“Thanks Dad.”

“Be careful tonight.”

“I will.”

“Call me if you need anything.  Anything at all, Lily, I mean it.” Said Harry genuinely.

“I will Dad.”

They were at the bottom of the stairs now and Harry stayed there as Lily went to Scorpius and gave him a sweet kiss in greeting.

“Hi”

“Lily, you look incredible.”

“Thanks.”

“Actually, all this white makes you look like an angel.”

Lily laughed and said, “Well, you and I both know the truth, don’t we?”

Scorpius laughed in response and then Lily turned and waved at Harry and they left through the floo. 

Harry stood there for a moment looking at the empty living room when James interrupted his thoughts, “Alright, I’m heading out now. I don’t expect to be home tonight, but call me if anything comes up with Lils.”

“James.”

“Yeah, Dad?” said James grabbing his cloak from the front closet

“About all the stuff you mentioned earlier…” started Harry but he didn’t really know what to say

James waited for his Dad to finish but when it was obvious he wasn’t going to, he sighed and said, “Look Dad, I’ve been with a lot of witches.  I do what they ask me to do, nothing more and nothing less.  It’s that simple.  Some of them like some strange shit, but I’m willing to try anything once.”

“James, at some point you’re life has to be about more than just sex and Quidditch.” Replied Harry wearily.

“I know Dad, but for now, I’m happy with it being just sex and Quidditch,” replied James grinning.

Harry shook his head and watched his eldest son leave. He turned and saw Al heading towards the kitchen, “Al, what are your plans for the night?”

“Bridget’s coming over in a little while to give me a fashion show of her new lingerie,” replied Al smiling.

“Right. Too much information Al.” replied Harry

“Sorry Dad, you asked.” Said Al

“Yes. Well, I’m going out to dinner with Rose. We shouldn’t be gone long, but I just wanted to make sure someone was here in case Lily came home early.”

“I doubt she will, but I’ll be here.” Replied Al

“Thanks. Oh and Al, can you keep your activities to your room, please.” Said Harry heading up the stairs.

“Aw, Dad, you take all the fun out of having the house to myself!” yelled Al.

Harry was shaking his head when he entered his room and shut the door.

“What?” asked Rose?

“It’s a little disturbing that I know all of my kids are going to be having sex tonight.” Replied Harry

Rose laughed heartily and said, “Don’t worry love, I’ll make sure I thoroughly distract you tonight.”

Harry grinned and approached her, pulling her into his arms and kissed her neck, making her groan.

“Care to take a shower with me, love?” asked Harry huskily

“Only if you promise to wash me, I’m a very dirty girl,” replied Rose sexily.

Harry growled and picked Rose up, making her squeal. He then proceeded to walk them to the bathroom with Rose’s legs wrapped around his waist.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry and Rose finally managed to leave the house after a thoroughly long shower and Rose was completely starving by the time they reached the restaurant.  They sat down and Rose started eating the bread right away…

“I’m sorry Rose, I should have remembered that you need to eat more often now,” said Harry guiltily

“It’s fine Harry.  I didn’t realize how hungry I was until we were on our way here. I should probably just start packing snacks in my bag so I always have something to tide me over.” Replied Rose.

“That’s a good idea.  We can stop on the way home and get some things for you.”

“I’m nervous about tomorrow.” Said Rose quietly

Harry reached across the table and grabbed her hand smiling at her,  “Don’t be nervous, Rose, I’ll be there with you.”

“I’m a little excited too.  Do you think they will tell us if we’re having a boy or a girl tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, I think it’s probably too soon for them to tell.”

“Yeah, probably.  What do you think they are going to do to me?”

Harry scrunched up his face for a minute and said, “I really have no idea.  I’ve never been through this the muggle way…”

“My mum said that they’ll do some blood tests and probably an internal exam, then they’ll try and listen to the baby’s heart through my stomach.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Well, the internal exam makes me a little nervous…”

“Hmm.  Yes, I guess that doesn’t sound so fun but I’ll be there with you and I’m sure it won’t hurt.  It’s probably just weird.”

Rose laughed and said, “Yeah, I think it will be a little strange but I’m excited about the baby so whatever they have to do is fine.”

“Do you have any feeling as to whether it’s a boy or a girl?” asked Harry curiously.

“No, I go back and forth.  Sometimes I swear it’s a girl because it’s so demanding and impatient, like when I crave a certain food.  Then other times I swear it’s a boy because…” Rose trailed off blushing.

“Because why?” asked Harry smiling at her

Rose leaned forward and whispered, blushing profusely, “Because I’m so horny all of the time.”

Harry laughed heartily and leaned forward kissing Rose sweetly when he was finished.  “I think I’m going to like that side effect, love.”

“Ha Ha Ha.  You might not like it when I look like a whale,” replied Rose smiling.

“Oh sweetheart, you’re beautiful, and you’re only going to get more beautiful as our baby grows.  Trust me, you are not going to look like a whale and even if you think you do, I will never think that.”

“How is it you always know the perfect thing to say to me to make me feel better?”

“Don’t know love, I just say what I feel.”

“Smooth, Potter.  Has James been teaching you?”

“What?  Where do you think he gets it from?” asked Harry mocking offense.

Rose laughed outright at that in response.

“Keep laughing and maybe I won’t scratch that itch tonight.” Replied Harry sulking.

“Oh come on now, love, don’t be mad at me,” said Rose pleading with big puppy dog eyes.

Harry huffed then smiled at her and asked, “So why didn’t you tell me about this problem before?”

“I thought it was fairly obvious that I’ve been quite insatiable.”

“I’m not complaining,” replied Harry holding up his hands and grinning.

“What if it’s both?” asked Rose shyly

“Both?” asked Harry confused

“What if it’s a boy and a girl?  What if it’s twins?  I mean they run in my family, on both sides actually… My Mum has twin cousins and my Dad…” Rose trailed off not really wanting to talk about her Dad.

Harry looked slightly freaked out and he was finishing off his drink and motioning to the waiter for another…

“Harry?”

He turned back to her and ran his hands through his hair and said, “Sorry, love.  I just wasn’t expecting that.  Just give me a minute.”

Rose smiled in response and started eating when their food was brought out.  It was another 10 minutes before Harry spoke.

“I guess I never really considered that we could have more than one baby.”

“I figure that everything about us has been so unusual we should just expect the unusual from now on.  I mean our age difference, our complicated family, the fact that we got pregnant from one night of unprotected sex, and it was the first time we had sex.  Just seems we should expect the unexpected.” Replied Rose casually.

Harry smiled and said, “I guess when you put it that way it makes sense.”

“Exactly, so do you have a preference on gender? Girl, boy?”

Harry thought for a few minutes and said, “No, I really don’t.  I mean I certainly would love to have another little girl but little boys are fun too. Do you?”

“I want one of each,” replied Rose smirking.

Harry raised his eyebrow and said, “You mean you want to have another baby after this one?”

“Would you mind?” asked Rose shyly

“I just never imagined having more children after I got divorced, but I’ll happily have as many babies as you want, love.”

“I don’t think I want more than 5.”

Harry choked on his drink, coughing for several minutes before he pulled himself together, “5?”

Rose was smiling sympathetically at him as she nodded in response.

“5?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“5.”

“Yes. 5.”

“OK, 5.”

Rose beamed at him and leaned over to kiss him passionately.

He pulled away and said, “We’ll need a bigger house.”

“Let’s just take this one baby at a time for now, love.”

Harry nodded and they finished eating. They stopped at the grocery store on the way home and Rose seemed to pick out everything in the store, making Harry laugh. 

When they got home, they were barely in the door before Rose had pushed Harry up against the wall and was kissing him thoroughly. After a few minutes, he pulled away and said, “Rose, we have to put the food away.”

Rose pouted and whined, “Harrrry.  I don’t want to wait!”

Harry laughed and said, “Love, you bought at least thirty different kinds of ice cream.  We have to put them away.”

Rose kissed him again and ran her hands up under his shirt.

Harry groaned and said, “I promise it won’t take long, sweetheart.  Why don’t you go upstairs and I’ll be up as soon as I’m done.”

Rose huffed and said, “Fine!  But I’m not happy about this, Potter!”

He smiled at her as they walked down the hallway, coming to the living room just before the stairway, they both stopped dead in their tracks. Hermione was standing in the doorway and Al and Bridget were sitting on the loveseat.  However, what made them stop was who was sitting on the couch … Ron.

Harry immediately pulled out his wand and moved to stand in front of Rose. After several minutes of tense silence Harry said, “Hermione could you help Rose put some food away in the kitchen?”

Hermione thought for a minute before she replied, “Sure, Harry.”

Harry handed her the bag he was holding that had all the shrunken groceries in it and waited for them to leave the room before he turned back to Al and said, “Al would you and Bridget mind staying the kitchen with Rose and Hermione?”

Al stood up and said, “No problem, Dad.”

When they were finally alone Harry spoke with a dangerous edge to his voice, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Ron stood up and said, “I don’t know. It was Hermione’s idea to talk with you. You know how she gets.  We were talking about everything and she just wouldn’t let it go, so I finally gave in and here I am.”

Harry nodded, knowing how Hermione was when she wanted something.

“I’m still pissed at you.” Said Ron

“I’m still pissed at you.” Replied Harry

“Was it all true?” asked Ron

“No.  Almost all of it was a lie.  I just needed to get you to focus on me.” Replied Harry

“Hermione?”

“We’ve never been more than friends.”

“Even when I left…”

“Even then.  We could have been more, but it never happened.”

Several minutes passed with the two of them looking at each other, neither saying a word.

“How?” asked Ron finally breaking the silence?

“What?” asked Harry confused?

“How did you end up with my daughter!” growled Ron clenching his jaw and fists.

“I don’t really know to be honest with you. I think it comes down to the fact that she was quite insistent and I was weak.” Replied Harry honestly.

“How long?”

“Two months now.”

“Not before?”

“No.”

“So you waited until she was legal?”

Harry narrowed his eyes at Ron in anger, not liking what he was insinuating. “I wasn’t waiting for anything!  I didn’t have a master plan to seduce your daughter Ron!” yelled Harry

“SHE’S 17 HARRY!” yelled Ron

“DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!” snapped back Harry

“Apparently not, Potter! I would have expected you to be a gentlemen and politely turn down my daughter.” Replied Ron angrily.

Harry took several deep breaths before responding, “I’m sorry Ron.  I didn’t plan on any of this, but I love Rose and I’m not walking away.”

Ron paced the room for a few minutes before plopping down on the couch.

“What am I supposed to do?” asked Ron half talking to himself, “How am I supposed to get over the fact that you’re shagging my daughter?”

“Ron.”

“No, I’m serious Harry.  You were my best mate.  Have been since we were 11.  You were like a brother to me, and I trusted you.” Replied Ron

“I know.”

“That’s all gone now.”

“I know.”

Ron nodded and stood up to go, “I’d like to say goodbye to my wife.”

Harry turned his head to the side and called, “Hermione.”

A minute later Hermione was standing in the doorway, “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say goodbye, I’m going home now.” Said Ron

“Oh, OK.  Did you two work everything out?” she asked concerned.

They both shrugged in response making her frown.

“I want to see my daughter,” demanded Ron.

“No,” replied Harry simply

“Fuck you Potter, she’s MY daughter,” growled Ron.

“Ron...” started Hermione but she was cut off quickly by Harry

“You’re not getting anywhere near her after the fucking shit you pulled Ron!” yelled Harry

“Who’s going to stop me,” laughed Ron

“Ron, please…” tried Hermione again.

Harry had his wand pointed straight at Ron and had stepped closer to him. 

Hermione moved to stand between them putting one hand on each of their chests. She turned to Harry and practically begged, “Harry, please.”

Harry looked down at Hermione, his wand still pointed at Ron and said, “Ron, you should go.”

“You can’t keep me away from my daughter!” bellowed Ron.

Harry clenched his jaw in anger, looked straight at Ron and said, “She’s my fiancé and I’m going to protect her from anyone that is a threat to her, and that includes you.”

“Harry.” Said Rose quietly from the doorway

They all whipped their heads to see that Rose, Al, Bridget and several Auror guards were standing in the doorway.

One of the Auror guards stepped forward moved to the trio and pulled Hermione away.  She was pushing against him, telling him to, “let go!” 

But he just said, “I’m sorry Madam, but my orders are to protect you.”

Ron took a step towards Rose but the other guards stepped in front of her as did Harry.

He huffed and yelled, “THIS IS RIDICULOUS, SHE’S MY DAUGHTER!”

“I think it’s time for you to go,” said Harry coldly.

“Rose?” asked Ron.

Harry raised his wand to Ron’s throat.

“HARRY, NO!” yelled Hermione.

Rose stepped around her guards and came up next to Harry and put her hand on his arm, gently requesting he lower his wand. After a minute, he lowered it slightly, allowing Ron to breathe. 

Rose spoke very quietly, “What did you expect father; A warm greeting?  Did you expect me to run and hug you? When I first told you I was seeing someone you called me a whore.  When you found out I was engaged, you threw my mother into a wall and tried to strangle me. The last time I saw you, you tried to kill me.”

“Rose, I’m sorry.  I just lost my temper.” Said Ron choking up a little

Rose laughed and said, “I think that’s the understatement of the year.”

“Rose, please, I love you.”

“Do you? You certainly have a funny way of showing it.”

“I’m sorry, Rose, please…” begged Ron

Rose had stepped back and moved in between her guards before she replied, “If you really love me then you’ll accept that I’m marrying Harry.”

She paused waiting for Ron’s reaction. He looked at Rose, then Hermione and finally at Harry before he nodded.

Rose gathered her nerve then said loud and clear, “And you’ll accept that I’m pregnant.”

Ron was quite certain he had never wanted to kill his best mate as much as he did right now.  He didn’t even want to talk to him in the first place but Hermione insisted.  He just wanted to see his daughter and tell her how sorry he was and go home. But no, of course it couldn’t be that simple.  His daughter was quite angry with him and he really couldn’t blame her, he was pretty horrible to her. He thought he could make peace with her and move on until she told him she was pregnant. Everyone was waiting for his reaction, obviously expecting him to go crazy, but he didn’t feel anything but disgusted right now.

He took several steps away from everyone, with a look of complete disgust on his face.

“Is this what you want, to be married and pregnant at 17?  Funny, I can’t remember that ever coming up when you talked about all the things you wanted to be when you grew up,” sneered Ron.

“Ron!” gasped Hermione

Rose was a little shocked at his reaction and said nothing.

Ron continued speaking to Rose in a demeaning manner, “What about dancing?  You can’t be a professional dancer when you’re pregnant!  What about your plans for being a healer or a doctor? Have you forgotten about your dreams or is it just easier to be Potter’s whore!”

“ENOUGH!” yelled Harry

Ron laughed cruelly, then asked Rose, “So this is your choice… You’re going to marry Potter and have his children?”

“Daddy…” said Rose quietly with tears running down her face.

“Answer me Rose!” demanded Ron.

“Yes! I love Harry,” yelled Rose wiping the tears from her face.

“Your mother and I raised you better than this, Rose. I love you more than anything in this world but right now, I’m completely disgusted by you.  If this is what you want then I’m done with you,” said Ron before he turned and dissapparated, leaving no room for discussion.

They all stood there in shock staring at the space that Ron just occupied. 

“Rose, hunny, I’ll talk to him, he’ll come around,” said Hermione desperately.

They all turned to see Rose with her hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her face.  She shook her head no a few times and then turned and ran up the stairs.

Harry said nothing as he made his way through the group and followed her up the stairs.

Harry spent the next hour holding onto Rose, just letting her cry.  After a while there was a knock on the door and Lily poked her head and said, “Hey, I heard about what happened with your Dad, do you want some company?”

 

Rose sat up away from Harry, sniffled and nodded her head in response. Lily came in and sat down and Harry got up and excused himself so that they could talk.

 

“Do you want to talk about it,” asked Lily?

 

Rose wiped her face and replied, “Not much to say. How was your night?”

 

Lily chuckled darkly and said “Horrible,” in response.

 

“What happened,” asked Rose?

 

“I don't know. I'm still not really sure,” replied Lily pausing before she continued, “Everything was fine and we were so close and then all of a sudden I panicked.

I was crying and I pushed Scorpius off me and it took forever for me to calm down.  I couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Teddy, it just kept playing over and over again in my head.”

 

“Oh Lily, I'm so sorry,” replied Rose sincerely.

 

Lily shrugged then said, “I had to explain to Scorpius what the problem was because he thought he had done something wrong and he felt horrible.”

 

“What did you tell him?”

 

“I told him that something had happened to me that I didn't exactly want and that I guess I just needed more time,” replied Lily sighing heavily.

 

“I guess we both had a shitty night then,” said Rose smiling sadly at Lily.

 

Lily nodded and then she grabbed Rose’s hand and they both curled up on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly. When Harry came back to check on them, he found them sound asleep, so he covered them both with the blankets and shut the light off, closing the door behind him.  He made his way to the living room and began to set up a bed on the couch for himself.  Just as he got settled, Al walked by on his way to the kitchen, raising his eyebrows at Harry…

 

“Geez, Dad, what did you do?”

 

“Ha Ha Ha.  Nothing. Lily fell asleep in my bed with Rose.” Replied Harry

 

“Oh, yeah, I guess that would be a little awkward, …” said Al trailing off at the end.

 

Harry just grunted and tried to get comfortable on the couch.

 

Al turned around to leave but then said, “Dad, just so we avoid what happened last time, Bridget is staying over tonight, so just knock first, OK?”

 

Harry chuckled and said, “Sure, Al, I think I can do that.”

 

“Thanks, Dad.”

 

Suddenly the floo activated and they both looked to see Scorpius standing there.

 

“Hey Scor, I think Lily is asleep already,” Said Al.

 

Scorpius shook his head and said, “No, Al, it’s you I need to talk to.”

 

“Sure, what’s up?” asked Al

 

Scorpius looked to Harry questioningly but when it was clear that he wasn’t going to leave, he decided to just pretend he wasn’t there.  “Al, tonight, Lily and I…. we…”

 

“Oh NO!  I do not want to hear what you and my sister did tonight,” said Al practically bolting from the room.

 

“No, Al, you don’t understand! You have to listen to me!” pleaded Scorpius.

 

Al groaned and ran a hand through his hair then sat down on the chair across from his Dad, before waving his hand for Scorpius to continue.

 

Scorpius sat down as well and started talking really quietly, “Al, look we were really close tonight to… you know… and something happened and Lily freaked out.  She was a mess, she started crying and pushing me off her. She was hysterical. It took me an hour just to calm her down.  Anyway, when I asked her what I did wrong, she told me that someone else had done something to her!”

 

Scorpius was breathing heavily now and he was running his hands through his hair.  He suddenly got up and started pacing the room, obviously unable to stay calm.

 

Al exchanged a worried glance with his Dad and decided to let him do the talking.  Harry sighed and sat up, then asked, “Scorpius, did Lily tell you what happened?”

 

“Not really.  She just said that something happened that she didn’t really want to happen, but she wouldn’t say anything else.”

 

Harry and Al both nodded and the three of them sat in silence for several minutes before Scorpius couldn’t take it anymore, “Will one of you please tell me what happened!”

 

It looked like Al was going to tell him, so Harry cut him off and said, “Look Scorpius, it’s not our place to tell you what happened.  Lily’s the one you need to talk to about this.”

 

Scorpius snorted and said, “I highly doubt she’s going to tell me.”

 

Al nodded in agreement, knowing how stubborn his sister was. 

 

After a few minutes of silence Scorpius asked, “Is that what was wrong last month…when she was in bed for days and taking all those potions?”

 

“Sort of…” replied Al vaguely.

 

“I remember she was in a lot of pain and it was uncomfortable for her to move around… Al, was she raped?” asked Scorpius half holding his breath.

 

“Depends on who you ask,” snapped Al before Harry could stop him.

 

“I’m asking you!” yelled Scorpius.

 

“Al,” growled Harry warningly.

 

“Dad, this is ridiculous! She told him something happened, why can’t we just tell him?” yelled Al shooting up out of his chair!

 

“What in Merlin’s name are you all yelling about, you’re going to wake the entire house up,” snapped Hermione coming into the living room.

 

They all looked appropriately chastised and mumbled various apologies to her as she put up a silencing charm. After several minutes of no one coming forward she asked, “Well, is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”

 

“Lily told Scorpius that something happened to her but didn’t say exactly what.  I want to tell him and Dad doesn’t want me to,” replied Al quickly.

 

“Oh.” Replied Hermione simply, exchanging a look with Harry

 

They sat in silence for several minutes all thinking before Hermione asked, “Harry, why does it look like you’re going to sleep on the couch?”

 

“Because I am,” replied Harry amused.

 

“Is it because of what happened with Ron? Do you want me to talk to Rose for you?  There’s no need for her to punish you!” replied Hermione rapidly.

 

Harry chuckled and said, “Hermione, calm down.  It has nothing to do with Ron and Rose isn’t mad at me.  Lily fell asleep in my bed, so rather than wake her, I’m just going to sleep down here tonight.”

 

Hermione blushed embarrassed by her outburst then she remembered that they were talking about Lily…

 

“Do you think Lily’s OK? I mean I didn’t expect her to tell Scorpius, she was pretty adamant about never talking about what happened again. Harry, maybe you should talk to her again, maybe she’s changed her mind.”

 

Harry sighed heavily, nodded and said, “I’ll try and talk to her about it again tomorrow.”

 

On that note everyone dispersed, leaving Harry alone to try and get some sleep.  Between what happened with Ron and Rose and worrying about Lily, he had a very hard time falling asleep and when he finally did his dreams were all unsettling. 

 

Rose woke up suddenly with the urge to vomit and ran to the bathroom.  This was one part of pregnancy she definitely didn’t appreciate. After she was pretty sure everything in her stomach was gone, she washed up and left the bathroom. Lily raised her head sleepily and asked, “Are you OK?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.  I’m just going to get some water,” replied Rose.

 

Lily mumbled a response and went back to sleep.

 

Rose wondered where Harry was, since he obviously didn’t sleep in their bed.  When she got to the bottom of the stairs she saw him sleeping in the living room.  She smiled and went to go get some water in the kitchen, noticing it was close to six in the morning. On her way back she decided to wake Harry.  He looked so uncomfortable on the couch that she didn’t think he would mind.  She got down on the floor and proceeded to kiss his bare chest, and then she moved up his neck to his earlobe, making him moan in his sleep.  Smiling, she moved back down his neck and focused on his nipples lightly biting them, which seemed to wake him up…”Rose?”

She chuckled lightly and said, “I certainly hope no one else wakes you up like this.”

 

He smiled and swiftly picked her up off the floor and placed her on top of him, kissing her soundly when she was settled.  He pulled away after a minute and said, “Morning, beautiful.”

 

“Good morning,” Rose replied smirking. She then moved the covers so they were covering the both of them and proceeded to snog him senseless. After several minutes she shifted and removed her underwear, making him raise his eyebrows at her.

 

“Everyone’s asleep Harry,” she breathed sexily in his ear making him moan. 

 

He seemed to battle with himself for a minute before he flipped them and removed his boxers, making sure to cover them again with the blanket.

 

Rose smiled devilishly up at him and that was all the provocation he needed to take her right then and there. They made love slowly and were mindful of being quiet, kissing most of the time to stifle the gasps and moans. It was a definite change for them and they both found it turned them on immensely.

 

Suddenly, the floo activated and startled, Harry and Rose both turned their heads to see James stumbling out holding onto a girl.  He noticed them right away and said, “Oi, What the hell are you doing in the living room! Wait, on second thought I don’t want to know.”

 

“Lily’s in our bed,” replied Rose simply.

 

“What?  Is she OK, did something happen?  I told Al to call me if something happened!” yelled James.

 

“Be quiet James, you’re going to wake the whole house!” whispered Rose fiercely.

 

“Sorry,” said James quietly but he was waiting for them to answer him.    


Harry was decidedly uncomfortable having a conversation with his son about his daughter while having sex with Rose.

 

“James, any chance we can talk about this later?” said Harry straining to keep still and not make it obvious that they were in the middle of having sex.

 

James just looked confused and Rose huffed quietly yelling in a whisper, “For Merlin’s sake James, we’re in the middle of having sex!  Can you please just go!”

 

James blushed something fierce and stuttered an apology as he dragged the girl out of the room and up the stairs.

 

Harry dropped his head on Rose’s chest and groaned, “I can’t believe that just happened.”

 

Then they both seemed to start laughing at the same time.

 

“I think I’m going to buy James and Al a place of their own, just so I can get some privacy!” said Harry when he caught his breath.

 

“Not a bad idea, or we could just add two bedrooms to the house,” replied Rose.

 

“Why two,” asked Harry?

 

Rose smirked and said, “One for the baby and one for us.”

 

Harry raised his eyebrows and teased, “Does my sweet Rose want to have a kinky sex room?”

 

Rose blushed and said quietly, “maybe…”

 

Harry growled in response and decided to pick back up on what was so rudely interrupted earlier.

 

Five minutes later they heard, “Bloody hell,” from behind the hallway and they whipped their heads in that direction to see Al standing there in his boxers.

 

Harry and Rose both groaned in frustration, they were so close…

 

“Don’t any of you sleep,” snapped Rose!

 

“Sorry, I had to get a drink! And seriously you had to do it on the couch?  That’s so gross,” replied Al

 

Harry and Rose both lost their patience and yelled, “GO!”

 

Al huffed indignantly and left to get his drink, a minute later he came back through and went back upstairs.

 

“Do we dare try again?” asked Harry

 

“Well, my mum is definitely going to wake up soon, but…”

 

“But what,” asked Harry amused?

 

Rose blushed and pulled Harry closer so she could whisper in his ear, “I really need to finish.”

 

Harry pulled back and smiled devilishly at her and began again with renewed vigor, making Rose gasp. Rose was eternally grateful that Harry was an expert lover and sooner than she expected she was writhing under him as her body exploded from the pleasure.  His mission complete he let go with her.  He then moved them so Rose was on her side lying half on Harry’s chest.  They were still coming down from their high when they heard someone come down the stairs. Harry could feel Rose smiling as he said, “Morning, Hugo.”

 

Hugo grumbled a good morning and went straight to the kitchen.

 

“My mum won’t be much longer, they usually wake up around the same time,” replied Rose shifting to find her underwear, and handing Harry his boxers.

 

Harry laughed and said, “I feel like a child sneaking around like this.”

 

Rose laughed and when they were all settled again she gave him a kiss.

 

“Good Morning,” said Hermione from the doorway.

 

They broke their kiss smiling.

 

“Morning Mum,” replied Rose.

 

“Morning Hermione,” replied Harry.

 

Hermione took a minute to observe them and raising her eyebrows said, “You two certainly look happy.”

 

They both laughed and Hermione shook her head and said, “I’m going to make some breakfast now if you want some,” and then she turned and headed into the kitchen.

 

Rose got up and pulled Harry up to go get some breakfast, but he stopped and said, “I think I’ll go wake Lily.”

 

Rose nodded, kissed him on the cheek and left him for the kitchen.

 

Harry headed up the stairs and opened his door to find Lily sound asleep on his side of the bed. He smiled, she still was his little girl no matter how old she got.  He sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed the hair out of her face and said quietly, “Lily.”  When she didn’t respond he continued, “Come on Lily, it’s time to get up.”

 

She groaned and rolled away from him making him laugh, “Morning, Lily.”  


Groaning again she asked, “What time is it?”

 

“It’s time to get up,” replied Harry knowing she hated when he did that.

 

“Dad,” whined Lily.

 

“Come on, Hermione’s making breakfast.”

 

Lily turned over to look at her Dad and she could see the concern in his eyes.  Sighing she said, “Rose told you what happened last night didn’t she?”

 

Harry shook his head and said, “No, but Scorpius did.”

 

“What!” said Lily shocked? That was the last person she expected to talk to her father.

 

Harry smiled warmly and said, “He was worried about you Lily.”

 

Lily just nodded her head in response.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Harry.

 

“NO!” said Lily mortified.

 

Harry frowned and said, “Lily, you’re my daughter, I love you more than anything.  Please let me try and help you.”

 

“I know Dad, but I don’t know if I can talk to you about this....”

 

“Can you try?”

 

Lily thought for a long time before finally nodding

 

Harry took a deep breath and said, “Did you have a flashback last night about what happened with Teddy?”

 

Again Lily nodded

 

“Has that ever happened before?”

 

“No.  I’ve had some nightmares but that’s the first time it’s happened while I was awake.”

 

“When you had the flashback what was the strongest emotion you were feeling?”

 

Lily hesitated before looking at her father and whispering, “I was scared.”

 

Harry nodded and pulled her into a hug, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

 

Lily cried for a few minutes while she was wrapped in her father’s arms.  When she pulled away she wiped her face and said, “Dad, do you think I’m always going to be scared?”

 

“No, sweetheart, I don’t. I just think you need to give yourself time.”

 

Lily nodded then asked, “Dad?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“The flashback, it seemed less…less…” Lily stopped unable to continue.

 

“Less what, sweetheart?” asked Harry gently?

 

Lily shook her head, not wanting to respond and Harry squeezed her hand in support.

 

She took a deep breath and whispered, “consensual.”

 

Harry clenched his jaw tightly and took a minute to control himself before he responded, “Is this the first time you’ve thought that?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Lily, I think it would help if you talked to a healer about what happened.”

 

“But won’t they call the Aurors?”

 

“Not if you don’t want them to, sweetheart.”

 

Lily thought for several minutes before saying, “Ok, Dad.”

 

Harry smiled and said, “Good. Let me make some calls and I’ll see if I can get you an appointment this week.”

 

Lily nodded and they both got up and started heading to the kitchen, running into Al and Bridget on the way.

 

“Hey Lily, how was your night?” asked Bridget excitedly.

 

“A bloody disaster,” chuckled Lily darkly.

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” replied Bridget.

 

“It’s fine.  How was yours?  But more importantly,” Lily leaned in closer and whispered, “which outfit did you wear?”

 

Bridget giggled and whispered back, “the leather one!”

 

“You didn’t!” gasped Lily loudly

 

Bridget just smirked in response making Lily laugh.

 

Harry and Al exchanged a confused look but decided not to ask what the girls were talking about.

 

When they got to the kitchen Harry sat down next to Rose and watched her happily eating.  She smiled at him and gave his thigh a quick squeeze making him jump in surprise.  She laughed making everyone look at her.

 

“Harry, do you want to head into work together?” asked Hermione.

 

“Actually, I’m going in late today. Rose and I have our first appointment today for the baby,” said Harry beaming.

 

Lily, Hermione, and Bridget all seemed to squeal in delight at the same time making Harry raise his eyebrows.

 

“That’s so exciting! Are you going to find out if it’s a boy or a girl?” asked Lily.

 

“I think it’s too soon to tell,” replied Rose.

 

“What do you mean, it’s just a simple spell, isn’t it?” asked Al

 

“We’re going to a muggle doctor not a healer,” replied Harry.

 

“I’m glad you’re going with her Harry,” said Hermione.

 

“I wouldn’t miss it,” said Harry sincerely which lead to Rose leaning over and giving him a kiss.

 

Harry and Rose spent the morning barely out of each other’s reach.  They seemed to be giddy; they were so happy and excited about the doctor’s visit. They arrived and only had to wait a few minutes before they were brought into the exam room.  The nurse took Rose’s blood pressure and weight then made her go to the bathroom so that she could run some tests. Rose was a little surprised that she had already gained weight but didn’t think much of it. After another ten minutes the doctor came in…

“Hello, I’m Dr. Phyllis Johnson, it’s nice to meet you Miss Weasley,” she shook Rose’s hand and then reached to Harry and shook his hand, “and I trust you’re the father?”

Harry paused then clarified, “The baby’s father, yes. I’m Harry Potter.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you both.  I see that this is your first appointment, dear. Is it alright if I call you Rose, or would prefer Miss Weasley?”

“Rose is fine, and yes, this is our first appointment,” replied Rose.

“The urine test confirmed the pregnancy, so you are in fact expecting,” said Dr. Johnson smiling at them.

Harry squeezed Rose’s hand and they both smiled.

“Now from what you’ve indicated on your paperwork, it looks like you’re approximately 8 weeks pregnant.  I’ll do a quick exam on you and then we’ll try and see if we can hear the baby’s heartbeat.  Alright?”

Rose nodded and lay back on the table and Harry stood besides her holding her hand. 

“You can relax dear, I’m not going to hurt you,” said Dr. Johnson smiling.

After much poking and prodding and a very embarrassing exam, they moved onto listening to the baby.  The doctor moved the probe around for a while and was just about to give up when they heard a faint heartbeat.  Rose gasped and started crying while Harry just grinned and leaned down to kiss Rose sweetly.

“Well, look at that, I was just about to tell you it was probably too soon to hear the heartbeat,” said Dr. Johnson. She let them listen for a few minutes before moving the probe away and wiping off Rose’s stomach.

“It’s very early so that’s a good sign to already hear the heartbeat.  I’d like to run some standard tests on you, so before you leave, you’ll need to stop at the lab to have your blood drawn.  Unless the blood work comes back abnormal, I won’t need to see you again for another 4 weeks.  Do you have any questions for me?”

Rose laughed and said, “I have a million!”

Harry smiled at her and Dr. Johnson said, “Sure, fire away dear.”

“I’m always hungry, is that normal?”

“Yes, completely.  There are however certain foods that you should avoid while you are pregnant.  I’ll get a list prepared for you.”

“Oh, that’s good to know.  I also noticed that I get tired a lot, is that normal?”

“Yes.”

“I get sick almost everyday, is that normal?”

“For some people it is, you may find that it will get better in your second trimester.”

“I’m a pretty serious dancer but I’ve been afraid to practice because of the baby…is it safe?”

“Regular exercise is good for both you and the baby, just don’t overdo it.  I wouldn’t practice for more than an hour a day.”

“This is a little embarrassing but I’ve noticed my hormones are off the wall and I seem to need Harry more often than before…”

“Sexually or emotionally?”

“Sexually,” stammered Rose blushing.

“That’s perfectly normal.  Some woman find the opposite is true which can make for a long pregnancy but there’s no reason you can’t have sex regularly. You just need to take into consideration that you will tire more quickly than before and you will need to be aware of how much force is being used.”

Rose blushed profusely as did Harry but he said, “I’ll be sure to be gentle with her.”

“Well then it shouldn’t be a problem. But if you find you start spotting, we may need to revisit this topic.”

They both nodded in understanding.

“I should tell you that twins run in my side of the family.  Both my mother and father have twins in their families.”

“Oh, well then that makes it more likely that you may have twins, although we only heard one heartbeat today.  We’ll listen again at your next visit.”

Harry cleared his throat and asked, “Is it alright that I’m so much older than Rose.  I mean will the baby be affected?”

“Harry,” gasped Rose reaching out to him.

Dr. Johnson seemed to think carefully before speaking, “There are instances where the fathers age can be a factor in miscarriages and certain genetic diseases however, I would need to know how old you are to determine if the baby could be at an increased risk.”

“I’m 42,” replied Harry.

“I don’t think there will be any issues then, most cases involve fathers that are in their late 50s and early 60s. But we could do some genetic testing of both yourself and Rose to evaluate your baby’s risks.  It would be just a general screening of the two of you and then if something came back that warranted further scrutiny we could perform an amniocentesis to test the baby.  Is that something that you would be interested in doing?”

“Do you think we need to,” asked Rose?

“Based on your family history and your age, I don’t think you need to.  But it’s a matter of what you are most comfortable with.”

“Harry?”

“I don’t really know anything about my family history because my parents died when I was a baby but I do have three healthy children already.  Rose, what do you want to do?”

“I have no idea.  I’ve never really thought about this type of thing before. Can we think about and let you know our decision at the next visit?” 

“Sure, but you have to keep in mind that most people perform these tests early enough so that they can terminate the pregnancy if something is wrong with the baby.  If you wait until your 12 weeks to do the testing, then the results take a couple of weeks, you’re looking at making a decision about terminating when you’re well into your second trimester.  You’ll have felt the baby moving by then and will be noticeably pregnant. The longer you’re pregnant the harder it will be to make this type of decision.  On the other hand, if you know that no matter what the results, you would never terminate, then you may want to consider not doing the testing at all.”

Rose frowned and Harry sighed loudly, neither knowing what to do.

“Do you mind if I call my Mum and ask her opinion?”

“No, of course not.  I’ll give you a few minutes,” replied Dr. Johnson.

Once she left Rose turned to Harry and asked, “You don’t mind do you?”

“No, I’d like to hear what she has to say as well,” relied Harry sitting down on the exam table next to Rose while she fished her phone out of her purse.  She then called her on speaker…

“Rose, are you alright?  I thought you were going to the doctors with Harry.” Said Hermione as soon as she answered.

“Yeah, Mum, everything’s fine.  I have you on speaker.  Harry and I are at the doctors now and we wanted your advice on something.”

“Oh. Hi Harry,” replied Hermione before continuing, “What do you need advice on?”

Harry spoke up now and said, “They want to know if we want to do some genetic testing.  They’ll test both mine and Rose’s blood and then if they need to they would test the baby’s blood.”

Hermione immediately went into lecture mode, reciting what she knew quickly. “Yes, it’s pretty common to test the parents blood for a host of genetic abnormalities that could affect the baby but testing the baby is more controversial.  There is a higher risk of miscarriage from amniocentesis so you need to make sure that the testing is highly accurate otherwise you’re taking the risk and getting a potentially false positive result.  Do they think you are at increased risk for something in particular?”

“Well Harry was concerned because he’s so much older than me, but the doctor thought it was fine.  She said that there are usually problems when the father is in his 60s but Harry’s only 42,” replied Rose causing Harry to chuckle.

“Only 42.  Rose you’re 25 years younger than me, I’m an old man compared to you,” said Harry jokingly.

“What you really need to ask yourselves is what you’re going to do with the test results.  Are you willing to terminate the pregnancy based on the results?” asked Hermione.

“I don’t know that I could Harry,” said Rose quietly.

“Me neither,” replied Harry.

“Well then that’s your answer.  If neither of you are willing to terminate based on the results, then why stress yourself out with testing at all?”

Harry and Rose looked at each other and smiled.

“Thanks Mum, I’ll call you later,” replied Rose hanging up quickly.

“So no testing,” asked Harry?

“No testing,” confirmed Rose.

Dr. Johnson came back soon after, “Were you able to come to a decision?”

“Yes, we’re not going to do the testing because we wouldn’t terminate the pregnancy,” replied Rose.

“That’s a logical choice.  We’ll know more once we do the ultrasound at 16 weeks, but I don’t believe that you have any reason to worry.” Replied Dr. Johnson.

“Dr. Johnson, I was wondering if it’s safe for Rose to travel,” asked Harry?

Rose looked at him curiously but said nothing.

“Yes, it’s safe for her to travel now and for the next few months, but not during her third trimester.  I would recommend sticking to areas where medical care is close by but other than that just make sure she’s eating and resting enough.”

“Great, thank you,” replied Harry beaming.

“Just make sure you’re back for your appointment next month,” added Dr. Johnson smiling.

“Will do,” replied Harry.

“Alright then, I’ll put the requests into the lab for the standard blood work and as long as everything is normal, I’ll see you in 4 weeks,” said Dr. Johnson shaking both their hands as she left the room.

Harry helped Rose change back into her clothes and then they proceeded to the lab for Rose to get her blood drawn.   Once they were done and were back in the car Rose turned to Harry and asked, “Are you going to fill me in on why you asked if I could travel?”

Harry shrugged and said, “I thought it would be good for us to get away and spend some time alone for a few weeks.”

“That sounds really nice, Harry.  When we’re you thinking?”

“Well, we have to attend the Ministry Ball this weekend, so I thought we could leave the next day.  What do you think?”

“We?  Harry the Ministry ball is for those that got accepted into positions at the Ministry and their families.  I don’t think I’ll be invited.” Replied Rose seriously.

“Hey,” said Harry grabbing her hand before continuing, “You are going to get a spot as an unspeakable and you are going to the ball. Do you understand?”

Rose laughed and said, “Whatever you say, love. Where are we going on this vacation anyway?”

“No idea yet, but I’ll figure it out,” smirked Harry.

“May I make a request?” asked Rose teasingly

Harry quirked his eyebrow at her and she continued, “Can it be a beach vacation?  I’d love to go somewhere sunny and warm and just relax.”

“I think that sounds perfect, love,” replied Harry.

“Harry, if we’re going to go away, we need to tell the rest of the family about us before we go,” said Rose seriously.

“Yes, I guess we should.  It will be kind of hard to explain why we’re on vacation together otherwise.”

“Yes, it would.  How about tomorrow night?  We can invite them over for dinner,” replied Rose.

Harry thought for a minute before saying, “Sure, why not.  I’ll just make sure we have a few extra Aurors there just in case.”

“Harry, I don’t think the rest of my family is going to react as badly as my Dad did,” said Rose quietly.

“I’m not taking any chances with you and the baby,” replied Harry in a tone that left no room for discussion.

“Whatever you want, love,” replied Rose kissing him on his cheek, which resulted in a big smile from Harry.

I do not own Harry Potter.

 

Rose was nervous, there was no doubt about it.  She had been finding things to keep her busy all day but now that everyone was going to be here soon she was a mess. _She had told Harry that everything would be fine, but she wasn’t entirely sure herself that it would be. Her Uncle Bill was definitely one she was worried about.  She also knew her grandmother would put the pieces together quickly, so Rose knew she would have to spill about the baby tonight as well.  Was it too much to ask for them to be happy for her? Yes, it probably was…_ Rose sighed heavily and changed her clothes before heading downstairs.

 

Al and James were in the kitchen with Hermione when Harry got home.  He came in with several Aurors making everyone raise their eyebrows at him.

 

"I'm not taking any chances this time," he said heavily.

 

"Dad, we're not going to let anything happen to Rose this time," said Al seriously.

 

"Thanks Al, I appreciate it, I do, its just to be safe, as there will be so many people here tonight,” replied Harry.

 

“Well, just make sure to take everyone's wand when they get here,” added Hermione, and the Aurors nodded indulgently.

 

“Dad, do you have to tell them all at the same time? I mean wouldn't it be safer to tell them separately,” asked James?

 

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair then said, “It would be, but Rose and I are going to go away on Monday for a few weeks, and we can't do that if they don't know we're together.”

 

“Really? I didn't know,” said Hermione quietly. 

 

“Yeah, we just decided yesterday after the doctors appointment,” replied Harry.

 

“Oh, that’s nice,” replied Hermione but Harry couldn’t help but feel she didn’t really mean it and was just saying what she thought he wanted to hear. 

 

Harry frowned, but his thoughts were disrupted by James, before he could broach the subject, “Where are you going,” asked James?

 

Harry smiled and said, “It's a surprise.”

 

“Harry,” whined Hermione in response.

 

“What? It is! I promise I'll leave you contact information before we go and call when we get there. But I know Rose will try and get the information out of you, so I'm not telling you anything before,” rationalized Harry.

 

“Fine, but I'm not happy about this,” huffed Hermione.

 

The kitchen door opened and Rose waked in, her face lit up as soon as she saw Harry and she tackled him with a hug making him take a few steps back to keep from falling over.  “Hey, love,” whispered Harry into her neck smiling.

 

“I missed you,” said Rose pulling back enough to give him a kiss.

 

After a minute they broke apart and Harry asked, “How are you feeling?”

 

“All right, I was only sick a few times today,” replied Rose nonchalantly.

 

Harry grimaced and said, “I’m sorry love.”

 

Rose just shrugged in response.

 

“It will get better sweetheart,” said Hermione lovingly.

 

Harry kissed Rose on the cheek tenderly and rubbed her stomach softly with his left hand.

 

They all sat in silence for a few minutes thinking about the night, when they were broken out of their trance by the floo activating.

 

“Show time,” said James getting up from the table with everyone else following behind.

 

The first to arrive were Molly and Arthur and they were surprised to be met by Aurors demanding their wands.

 

Harry smiled sheepishly and said, “It’s a long story.”

 

Then came Bill, Fleur, Victoria, Dominique, and Louis followed quickly by George, Angelina, Roxanne and Fred.

 

Once they were settled Ginny and Cormac arrived with Charlie.  And finally Percy, Audrey, Molly and Lucy came with Percy going on about something at work that tied him up.

 

Hermione, Rose, Al, James, Hugo and Lily greeted everyone and brought them into the dining room. Everyone took a seat and started talking amongst themselves.  Harry sat at the head of the table with Rose to his left and Hermione to his right then James and Al on the other side of each of them. 

 

Finally the room quieted down and Molly asked, “Where's Ron, isn't he coming?”

 

“Unfortunately, no he isn’t going to be here tonight,” replied Harry even though Molly had asked Hermione.

 

Before Molly could ask anymore about Ron, Bill asked, “What's the deal with the Aurors, Harry?  Did something happen?”

 

“Yes, that's why I've asked you all here tonight.”  Harry took a deep breath and began,

“I wanted to let you know that I've gotten engaged.  She's quite special to me, perfect in every way really.”

 

There was a lot of excitement and Harry waited for it to die down before continuing, “She's a bit younger than me and it’s somewhat controversial for us to be together. We learned this the hard way, hence the Aurors tonight.”

 

Harry paused and looked around at everyone, finally looking at Rose for the OK.  She smiled genuinely at him making him catch his breath momentarily before he said loud and clear, "Its Rose.  I'm in love with Rose and we're planning on getting married."

 

There was some general confusion with many asking, “Rose who?” or “Who did he say?” 

 

Rose then stood up and grabbed Harry's hand, kissed him chastely, and then turned to face her family and said, “I know you're probably all surprised, but we’re very happy together.” She moved to stand in front of Harry and pulled his arm around her stomach.  With their hands clasped everyone could see the engagement ring sparkling brightly.

 

There was silence for several minutes before chaos ensued.  Everyone was yelling at the same time…

 

“Harry, are you mental? She’s still a child!  And she’s family!” roared Bill slamming his hands on the table as he bolted up out of his chair. Fleur and Victorie stood to try and keep Bill from attacking Harry.

 

“This is a joke, right,” asked George somewhat amused, while Angelina appeared to be in shock.

 

“Harry, were you hit by a stray spell at work,” asked Charlie, as if this was something that happened all the time?

 

“Did Rose put you under the imperious curse,” asked Dominique concerned?

 

“What? Of course not,” yelled back Rose horrified!

 

“That's why Ron’s not here, isn’t it? I never took you for a coward, Potter,” yelled Percy.

 

James stood up quickly and yelled back, “Don't you dare call my Dad a coward, you pompous git!”

 

“If that was my father Lily, I'd kill her. How can you just sit there and do nothing,” asked Roxanne?

 

“Why should I do anything? They’re happy together,” snapped Lily.

 

“I’m not surprised, I always knew you were a whore Rose,” Lucy said nastily and her sister Molly nodded her head in agreement.

 

“My sister is not a whore,” roared Hugo!

 

“You took advantage of my cousin,” yelled Fred angrily!

 

Louis was adamantly agreeing, “Yeah, you took advantage of Rosie!”

 

“NO, he didn’t,” yelled back Al!

 

“What kind of a mother allows this to happen to their daughter?  You should be ashamed of yourself Hermione, its incest,” yelled Audrey!

 

“How dare you!  It is NOT incest!” screamed Hermione banging the table furiously with her hand.

 

“Harry how could you? We trusted you; you’re like a son to us,” gasped Molly obviously hurt. 

 

The way she said it almost brought Harry to tears, but before he could reply Arthur stood up.  This act brought everyone to silence and he motioned for everyone to sit down.  Once they had done so he turned to Harry and said fiercely, “Harry, you are like a son to me, but Rose is my granddaughter. I never thought I would have to protect my family from you, but I will do what is necessary.”

 

“Grandpa, I love him,” said Rose angrily.

 

“I understand your position Arthur, I do, but I’m in love with Rose,” replied Harry evenly while moving Rose to the side so that he was slightly in front of her.

 

Arthur looked at Harry steadily for a few minutes before asking, “Why isn’t Ron here?”

 

“He already knows we are together,” replied Harry evenly.

 

“And how does my son feel about the two of you,” asked Arthur sternly?

 

They both paused for a moment thinking of the best reply when Hermione spoke up, “Ron’s not thrilled about it.”

 

James snorted in response and Al mumbled, “That’s an understatement.”

 

Arthur turned to them and said, “You knew as well?”

 

They both nodded and Arthur asked, “Who else knew?”

 

Hugo, Lily, Ginny and Cormac all indicated that they knew, making Arthur sigh and sit down.  “Explain to those of us that didn’t know about you two how this happened.” 

 

“Arthur!” gasped Molly

 

“Dad!” yelled Bill

 

But he just waved them off and said, “It only seems fair to hear them out.  After all, half the family already knows, so we should as well.”

 

Harry and Rose were speechless, so shocked were they that the family was going to listen to what they had to say. Recovering quickly Harry pulled a chair over for Rose to sit down in and then pulled his next to her and sat down. Once they were both seated they found they weren’t sure where to begin.

 

After a minute of silence Hermione suggested, “Rose, why don’t you start at the beginning.”

 

Harry smiled gratefully at her while Rose nodded and began telling their story.  Harry would add details in while Rose gave the general timeline to everyone.  They were quite the pair to watch.  They seamlessly interacted with one another and they were constantly finishing each other’s sentences.  They were touching the whole time as well, either holding hands or wrapping their arms around each other.  They would occasionally stop and smile at each other, seemingly sharing a secret moment. It took them over an hour to tell their story, most relaxing enough to ask questions along the way. When they were finished, it was obvious to all of them how much Harry and Rose loved and adored each other.

 

Except Percy, who spewed out some nonsense about the public’s perception and what was proper before storming out with his wife and twin daughters. 

 

After Percy’s outburst and sudden departure, Arthur asked, “Ginny, what do you think of this?”

 

Surprised that she was being called out, she took a minute to collect herself before responding, “It doesn’t matter what I think Dad.  Harry and I are divorced and Rose is of age.  They are not related by blood, so as far as I see it they are both adults that can decide for themselves what they want to do.”

 

“And your initial reaction was the same,” asked Arthur knowingly?

 

Ginny flushed and said, “No, it wasn’t, but it doesn’t matter what I think or really what any of us think. They’re happy together and that should be what matters.”

 

Harry was quite shocked to hear Ginny’s response as were most at the table.

 

Arthur turned to Hermione and asked, “Hermione, I take it you and Ron disagree on this topic? Would you care to fill us in?”

 

Hermione nodded and said, “Yes, we disagreed.  I’ve known for a long time that Rose has had a crush on Harry and that she was just waiting to act so I had time to prepare myself.  Ron did not see it coming and did not take it well.  When Harry and Rose told him, he attacked Harry, which knowing Ron wasn’t a surprise.”

 

“Is that why all the Aurors are here?” asked Arthur

 

“No.  They are here to protect Rose and I,” replied Hermione quietly.

 

“I don’t understand, surely Ron wouldn’t hurt either of you,” said Molly.

 

Hermione and Rose looked to Harry, who seemed unwilling to elaborate so Hugo spoke up, “My Dad was furious with Uncle Harry and they were fighting, literally destroying the kitchen in the process. My mum was standing between them at one point and this seemed to anger my Dad more and he threw my mum into a wall, nearly knocking her out.”

 

There were several gasps of outrage before Al took over, “My Dad knew that Uncle Ron was going to react badly and made James and I promise to get Rose and Hermione out if things got dangerous. During their fight my Dad told me to get Rose out, so the first chance I had I grabbed her and started pulling her out of the room, but she was fighting me and that drew Uncle Ron’s attention.  He stormed over to us and pulled Rose from my grip forcefully and dragged her across the room, and then he shoved her against the wall and held her in place by her throat. He was strangling her and ordering us to leave.   It’s all a bit of a blur after that but somehow Aunt Hermione managed to stun him and we were able to get them out safely.”

 

“When did this happen?” asked Bill.

 

“Two weeks ago.  We haven’t been home since,” replied Hermione.

 

Molly got up from her seat and walked over to Rose, pulling her up out of her chair and into a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so sorry, Rose, dear,” she said into her hair then she pulled back and there were tears running down both their faces.  “I may not understand how or why you and Harry ended up together but no one deserves to be treated like that by their father.  You understand that don’t you, that you did not deserve that?”

 

Rose wiped the tears off her face and nodded in response making them both cry harder and pull each other into another hug.

 

“So what happens now,” asked Bill?

 

“We all know Ron usually calms down after a while, but this is bad even for him,” added George.

 

“Well, that’s part of the reason we decided to tell you about us now.  Rose and I are leaving Monday for a much needed holiday.  We’ll only be gone a few weeks but I think it will give us the time we need to relax and recover from all of this. Plus it will give everyone time to get used to the idea of us,” replied Harry.

 

 “I think that’s a wise idea, Harry,” said Arthur before taking a deep breath and continuing, “I’m not going to give the two of you my blessing but I won’t stand in your way either.”

 

“Thank you,” replied Harry while Rose stood up and gave her grandfather a hug in thanks.

     

 Bill sighed heavily and said, “I honestly don’t know what to think.  I mean my first reaction was to kill you but now I can see that you obviously love Rose and that you’re happy together.  I guess I’m going to do nothing for now.  But make no mistake Potter, if you hurt her or if I find out you took advantage of her, you will have to deal with me.”

 

Charlie and George both nodded in agreement and said, “That goes for us too Harry.”

Harry nodded in response and said, “I understand.”

 

Fleur huffed and said, “You men are so ridiculous!  Would you be doing this if the roles were reversed and I was dating one of the boys? Or Hermione, or Angelina? If we decided we wanted to have a relationship with James, or Fred, would you feel the same way?”

 

When they all just stared at her in shock she shook her head and said, “Hypocrites all of you.”

 

Rose laughed and said, “Thank you Auntie.”

 

“You know Hermione said something very similar to me when I was trying to fend off Rose’s advances,” added Harry laughing.

 

“Harry!” gasped Hermione blushing.

 

“What?  You did!  I believe you said something about bedding one of my sons,” replied Harry smirking.

 

“I was drunk,” screeched Hermione horrified and then she added, “And you’re twisting my words Harry Potter!”

 

Harry chuckled and Al spoke up, “She’s right Dad, you are twisting her words.  She asked if you would rather us have the hots for her or Pansy Parkinson.  I on the other hand said I would much rather be with her.”

 

Most at the table chuckled and Hermione was blushing profusely while covering her face with her hands.

 

“I guess if you think about it, besides the age difference, it’s the same as Teddy and Victorie.  I mean we all consider them both family but Teddy’s not blood,” said Fred.

 

Suddenly the room was much less cheerful and there was a fair amount of tension in the room.

 

“What did I say wrong?” asked Fred after a few minutes.

 

“Teddy and I broke up,” replied Victorie quietly before she got up and left the room.

 

“When did that happen,” asked Charlie protectively?

 

“A few weeks ago.  They had been having problems for the last few months. She said that Teddy was different and he was drinking a lot. Vic knew something was wrong but he wouldn’t talk about it.  She finally had enough and broke up with him but I know she still loves him,” replied Dominique.

 

“Is that why Teddy isn’t here,” asked Molly?

 

There was a long silence while everyone waited for Harry to respond.  Seeing that her father didn’t know what to say Lily spoke up and said, “No, that’s my fault.”

 

The family looked to Lily and was asking various questions about what happened and she held up her hands and said, “Let’s just say Teddy and I disagreed on something and we’re not on good terms.”

 

Al snorted, James growled, and Harry clenched his jaw, while Hugo said, “That’s bullshit Lily.”

 

“Hugo!  Don’t you dare talk like that at the table,” reprimanded Hermione.

 

“It’s the truth,” yelled Lily!

 

Hugo stood up and yelled, “You’re acting like you disagreed over what kind of pizza to order, not”

 

“DON’T YOU DARE,” screamed Lily cutting Hugo off angrily.

 

Hugo clenched his jaw in anger and Hermione pulled him down back into his seat and said sternly, “Enough, Hugo. Not another word.”

 

“Lily,” said Rose quietly but Lily just shook her head from side to side.  There were tears streaming down her face and Ginny quickly got up and moved to her side.  She knelt on the floor and pulled Lily into a hug, letting her cry for several minutes before Lily pulled herself together again.

 

“Thanks,” said Lily sniffling and wiping her face.

 

“Oh, dear, don’t cry. I can’t tell you how many times my kids got into fights.  They always managed to figure it out in the end though.  It’s just what brothers and sisters do. Try not to worry about it too much, he’ll come around,” replied Molly trying to console her.

 

“Mum,” gasped Ginny horrified.

 

“He better not come around,” yelled Al slamming his hand on the table.

 

“Can someone explain what’s going on, because it seems like we don’t all know the full story,” asked Charlie?

 

Everyone looked towards Lily but she just shook her head and said, “I can’t,” looking at Harry.

 

“Do you want me to tell them sweetheart,” asked Harry?

 

Lily seemed to have an internal battle and Rose decided to try and sway her, “Lily, they’re family, they won’t judge you.  They love you and I think it will help you to talk about it.”

 

James and Al both reached out a hand to her and she grabbed them.  She closed her eyes and nodded whispering, “Ok, Dad, you can tell them.”

 

 

 

 


	9. Multiples?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose deals with her hormones and finds out if she made the cut at the Ministry.

I do not own Harry Potter.

Lily was lying in bed thinking about last night. On the one hand she was relieved that all her family knew about what happened with Teddy, but on the other she couldn’t help but feel she deceived everyone.  Her father had done a very good job of skirting around the R word saying that they both had had too much to drink, did things they normally wouldn’t have which resulted in Teddy’s split from the family. She could tell that many were suspicious but only one sought her out…

“Lily,” said Charlie stopping her as she left the room after saying her goodbyes.

She turned and looked up at him, eyes wide and innocent, “Yeah?”

He moved closer to her and lowered his voice, “I know that you probably don’t want to talk about this, but I can’t help but feel Harry didn’t give us the full story.”

“You’re right I don’t want to talk about it,” snapped Lily.

Charlie was clearly surprised by her response, and he couldn’t mask his hurt.  He had always had a good relationship with Lily, and while he would never come out and say it, she was his favorite niece.

Lily sighed and looked away, saying softly, “I’m sorry, that was rude of me Uncle.”

“It’s alright, sweetheart, you don’t have to apologize to me.  I’m just concerned about you, that’s all,” replied Charlie. But when he put his hand on her shoulder and planted a kiss on the top of her head, he felt her tense up. He pulled away and looked at her questioningly.  He watched her for several minutes, as she closed her eyes and visibly tried to calm herself down.  There were tears rolling down her face and her fists were clenched.

“Lily, will you answer one question for me, honestly. Just a simple yes or no question?”

Lily bit her lip briefly before nodding slowly.

Charlie took a deep breath before he asked, “Did Teddy rape you?”

Lily looked stricken and thought for a minute before she said quite clearly, “I don’t know, Uncle.”  And that was the complete truth.  She just didn’t know.

She then took her uncle’s stunned state as an opportunity to flee the room and go to her bedroom.

She hadn’t left her room since then and she knew her father was probably inundated with questions from the family last night. She also knew that she really needed to tell Scorpius what happened, but she was absolutely dreading it. She vowed to herself that she would stay in bed as long as possible today and avoid everyone. She knew it wasn’t the best coping mechanism but it would do for now, or at least until she got hungry.

Rose was having a very difficult day. She woke up to find a note from Harry indicating he had to go to work early and didn’t want to wake her. Normally Rose would find this endearing but not today.  She knew as soon as she woke up that something was off with her body.  She quickly realized her hormones were all over the place when she felt the familiar need for Harry, knowing she had an itch only he could scratch.  She stayed in her room as long as possible until hunger finally sent her to the kitchen for breakfast.   

Poor Al had only asked her how she was doing when she burst into tears.  He was speechless with her response and sat dumbfounded at the table as she fled the kitchen sobbing.

After that fiasco, she decided to take a bath to calm herself down.  That’s when the urges became overwhelming.  She tried to ignore them, knowing that Harry would be home at dinnertime, but she was starting to feel like a cat in heat. After much concentration on her part, she finally thought she had settled herself down, and ventured to the kitchen again to get some lunch. 

Unfortunately, it seemed as though everyone had the same idea as her and the kitchen was full.  Groaning internally, she went about making her lunch at the counter. 

James came up next to her to make his own and suddenly reached across her to get something to her left.  When he did this his arm brushed against her chest lightly and Rose jumped away from him as if she had been burned. “Bloody Hell James, if you just said excuse me I would move out of your way,” yelled Rose flushed!

Everyone in the kitchen stared at her in shock. She saw Al mouthing something to James out of the corner of her eye.  She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before Lily asked, “Rose, are you alright?”

There were tears streaming down Rose’s face now and she replied, “No.  I’m definitely not alright.”

“I’m sorry Rose, I should have said excuse me,” said James soothingly.

Rose just started sobbing in response.

James and Al were terrified and had no idea what to do; they looked as though they were trapped with a dangerous animal. Lily was gesturing to James with her arms to go to Rose and hug her.  After much silent yelling and waving of arms, James finally caved and approached her.  As soon as he touched her arm she moved away from him.

“Sorry, I was just… you just…seemed like you needed a hug,” said James holding up his arms in surrender.

Rose groaned, stepping further away from him and said, “I…I…I.” She stopped unable to find the right words but she was blushing furiously.  She opened her mouth several times to try and explain but couldn’t get anything out.  Finally she said frustrated, “Merlin, I can’t talk about this with you guys.”

Lily seemed to understand and said smiling, “It’s the hormones, Rose.”

They all looked at Lily and she just shrugged in response and said, “You all seem to forget I was pregnant recently.”

“It’s so intense today though.  I mean, I’m always joking with Harry that it’s a boy, but this is crazy,” said Rose trailing off. 

Lily laughed heartily in response.

James looked confused and Al asked, “Why do you think it’s a boy?”

Rose blushed and didn’t seem comfortable answering so Lily said, “My guess is she’s craving sex.”

Rose covered her face and groaned once more.

James laughed and Al scrunched up his face and said, “Too much information.”

“Well, you asked,” yelled Rose before adding, “and I swear there must be more than one in there!  This is ridiculous!”

Lily continued to laugh but the boys looked slightly uncomfortable. 

“Do you want me to owl my Dad to come home,” asked James trying to be helpful?

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Rose was instantly furious, “And say what?  Your pathetic fiancé needs you to come home and shag her!” She grabbed her food and stormed out of the room, still mumbling under her breath.

Lily yelled out, “Rose, try and take a bath!”

“I ALREADY DID!”

“A nap?” yelled back Lily.

“I TRIED!”

They all heard her storm up the stairs and slam her bedroom door.

Lily laughed some more then grabbed some parchment and began writing a letter.

“What are you doing,” asked Al?

“Writing Dad.”

“She just said she didn’t want us to do that,” said James confused.

Lily stopped writing and looked at James pointedly, “Obviously, she’s embarrassed. She’s pregnant and hormonal. She needs Dad, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.”

Lily got up and gave the letter to their owl and watched it leave out the window.  She turned and said, “Now, I’m going to Mum’s for a few hours.  You may want to be somewhere else when Dad gets home.”

“Is it like this for all witches,” asked James?

“I don’t know.  I didn’t read too much about being pregnant because I knew I didn’t want to have the baby. I did notice it a little, though, and she’s much farther along than I was, so my guess is it’s very uncomfortable for her.”

“I barely touched her when I reached across her for the bread,” replied James curiously.

“Right.  But where did you barely touch her,” asked Lily knowingly?

“My arm just brushed against her chest,” replied James simply.

Lily looked at him like he was an idiot before saying, “Only the most sensitive part of a pregnant witches body, James. Are you sure you’ve had the talk?”

James blushed and said, “Oh.  I guess that makes sense now.  And it’s not like I meant to!”

Lily rolled her eyes at him then walked out of the kitchen and left through the floo.

James and Al just stared at each other not knowing what to do next.

“Should we leave,” asked James?

“Maybe we should wait until Dad gets here. I don’t think he’ll appreciate us leaving Rose alone if he thinks something is wrong.  I have no idea what Lily told him,” replied Al sitting down on the couch.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” said James sitting down as well.

After a few minutes of silence Al said, “I sort of feel bad for Dad.”

James chuckled and said, “Me too, but at least he’s been through this before.”

“James I really don’t want to think about Mum craving sex.  In fact I don’t want to be thinking about Rose craving sex.  I think I’m going to be permanently scarred from this,” huffed Al crossing his arms.

“Oh come off it, don’t tell me you wouldn’t love to see Bridget in that state,” smirked James.

That seemed to throw Al off and he spent a minute thinking about it before he grinned.

“I thought so,” replied James.

“Do you think she’s right about it being a boy,” asked Al?

“I don’t know.  It would be pretty cool to have another brother though.”

“Or two if what she said about their being more than one is right.”

“Twins would definitely be cool,” said James grinning before adding, “Just think of how much trouble they could get into!”

They both laughed heartily for several minutes until the floo activated and their Dad came out looking frantic…

“What’s wrong?  Where’s Rose?”

“She’s upstairs,” replied James.

“Is she alright?  Lily just said that Rose was having some issues with the pregnancy… Well, is she alright?” snapped Harry

“Yes, just go upstairs and she can fill you in,” replied Al.

Harry glared at them both before tossing his cloak off and climbing the stairs two at a time.

“We’re going out now, Dad,” yelled James up the stairs before turning to Al and saying, “Fancy a visit with Mum?”

“Yes, definitely.”

Harry opened the door to his bedroom in a complete panic; he was terrified something was wrong with Rose or the baby.

“Rose,” croaked Harry unsteadily?

He didn’t receive a response but he could hear the water running in the bathroom so he made his way over and slowly opened the door to see Rose in the tub, sobbing into her hands.  He quickly made his way to her and kneeled on the floor, pulling her hands away from her face and asked, “Rose, love, what’s wrong?”

She jumped at the touch but when she realized it was him, she threw herself in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She cried and cried and just when Harry thought she was all cried out, she cried some more. Finally, he couldn’t stand not knowing anymore and begged, “Rose, please, tell me what’s wrong? Did something happen with the baby?”

Rose gasped and tried to compose herself, sniffling as she said, “I’m so sorry Harry.  I didn’t mean to scare you.  The baby is fine.  It’s me. I’m a mess.  I can’t do this!  My hormones are all over the place today and I can’t make it stop! I’m so so sorry. I told them not to owl you! I know you’re busy, I’m fine really, I’m sorry I bothered you.”

Harry let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and sat back on the floor.  He took a minute to notice he was completely soaked and quickly stood, removing his wet clothes.  He then took in Rose’s state and decided to get into the tub with her.  She obviously needed some comfort and he would do everything he could to make her feel better.  When he settled in the tub she crawled into his arms and cried some more.  He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like this but eventually Rose did calm down. 

He was soothingly rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head when she moved so that she was straddling him. He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly but instead of talking, she simply moved in to kiss him. She quickly became aggressive, having kept her need for him locked away all day.  She ran her hands through his hair, tugging his head back so she could kiss him more fully.  Harry was quite surprised, having only seen Rose like this on the night she seduced him, but even then she was still somewhat tentative.

There was something feral about the way she was right now and Harry growled in appreciation when she positioned herself above him. She mewled in delight as they joined and she set a slow, hard pace.  She wrapped her legs around Harry’s waist and leaned back, while bracing herself against his thighs for support.  She kept begging him, “deeper… harder,” to which he happily obliged.  The water was mostly outside the tub now, they were moving around so much. 

Harry could feel her need and he began running his hands up and down her body, listening for her little gasps of pleasure and making sure to focus a fair amount of attention on those special spots. After a while Harry found he couldn’t take being in the tub anymore.  It was becoming very uncomfortable so he quickly pulled Rose up and whispered, “Rose, bed.”  She shook her head no and continued moving but he put both his hands on her hips stopping her and said, “Rose, please, I need to get out of the tub.”

She opened her eyes and they were clouded with lust. It was by far one of his favorite looks on her.  He smiled and lifted her off him, quickly standing up and stepping out of the tub. He held her hand as she stepped out and before he knew what was happening she was attacking his lips again with sensual kisses as he walked them towards the bedroom.  When they finally reached the bed, they fell onto it and quickly resumed from where they left off in the tub.  They continued like this for a couple of hours until Rose was satisfied and Harry couldn’t go any longer.  As Harry was drifting off to sleep his last thought was that this pregnancy was unlike any of the others he had experienced...

………………..

Harry woke a few hours later and noticed the sun was just starting to set. He tried to get out of bed but Rose felt him moving and proceeded to have her way with him again. Exhausted she fell back to sleep quickly and Harry managed to leave the bedroom without waking her this time.  He needed to make some calls so he proceeded to the kitchen, where his phone was.  He found the number for the Dr. Johnson and called. After speaking at length with the receptionist, he was finally transferred to her…

“Hello, Mr. Potter, my receptionist tells me you’re worried about Rose. What seems to be the problem,” asked Dr. Johnson

Harry sighed heavily before beginning, “Thanks for taking my call Doctor, I’m worried about Rose.  She is extremely emotional and has an insatiable sex drive right now.  I know it doesn’t sound that bad, but I’m really worried about her.  I have three teenagers with my ex-wife and I don’t remember those pregnancies being anything like this.”

“Well, no two pregnancies are alike, so I don’t necessarily think you can go on your previous experience with your ex-wife.  Why don’t you tell me what happened today to make you call me?”

“I got a … message from my daughter saying that Rose was having some difficulties with the pregnancy.  When I got home, Rose was in the bath crying uncontrollably.  I asked her what was wrong and she just kept saying she was a mess. That her emotions were all over the place and that she had this overwhelming need to be with me.  She was really upset because she didn’t want to bother me while I was at work.  It took me over an hour to calm her down and then we spent several hours having sex. She fell asleep for a short time and then she wanted to have sex again.  She’s back asleep now but I know she’s completely overwhelmed with her hormones.  Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining; it’s just that she seems to be having a really hard time. Is there anything that could be wrong?”

“Hmm. Let me pull up the results of the blood work we did.”

“Thanks.”

“Interesting….”

“What?”

“Well her hormone levels were high at the time but it falls in line with her family history.”

Harry turned around at a noise to find James and Al standing in the kitchen and he put his finger up to his mouth to tell them to be quiet. They rolled their eyes and sat down at the kitchen table while he finished his conversation.  He turned away from them and realized he didn’t understand what the doctor just said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” replied Harry confused.

“The levels are what we would expect for someone carrying multiples and based on Rose’s family history of twins, I did not think we needed to look into it further.  She’s most likely carrying multiples, which would explain why you’ve never experienced a pregnancy like this before.  Is she eating normally and gaining weight?”

Harry turned quite pale and quickly made his way over to the table to sit down, “Yes, she’s eating quite a lot actually and I have noticed her breasts are larger so I guess she’s gaining weight as well.”

Harry waved off James’ horrified, “Dad!” in the background.

“Well then she sounds like she’s doing as well as can be expected. Has she had any pains in her abdomen or back?”

“No, not that I know of.”

“I’m scheduled to see her in three weeks but if you want to bring her in sooner, I can make an emergency appointment.”

“Do you think it’s necessary?  She doesn’t know I’ve called you and I don’t want to upset her if I’m just being paranoid,” replied Harry heavily.

“No, I don’t think it’s necessary but you’re the one that see’s her everyday so if you think something is wrong then I’m happy to see her.”

Harry thought for a minute and asked, “When you say multiples, what exactly do you mean?”

“A woman carrying more than one child at once is said to be having multiples. It could be twins or more.”

“More?”

“Yes, three or more.  This is very rare, especially when conceived naturally but it can happen. If she is having multiples we’ll need to monitor her more closely the further along in her pregnancy she gets but this early, there’s not much to be done.  Unless you wanted to reduce.”

“Reduce?”

“Yes, terminate one or more of the fetuses.”

“No. Definitely not.”

“Alright, but we’ll have to have this discussion again with Rose if she is having multiples.  So would you like to bring her in?”

“I don’t know.  I’m a little overwhelmed right now to be honest.”

“Try not to worry about what may or may not be.  Just take care of Rose the way you have been. Try and talk to her. See how’s she’s feeling about the pregnancy.  See if she wants to come in.  It’s important that you talk to each other about your worries.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to her and if she wants to come in, I’ll call back for an appointment.”

“That’s sounds like a good plan, Mr. Potter.”

“Thank you Dr. Johnson for talking with me.”

“Not a problem at all.  Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I will.  Good bye.”

“Good bye.”

Harry put the phone down and lowered his head between his legs, thinking he just might hyperventilate…

“What was all that about,” asked Al making Harry jump.  He had completely forgotten they were sitting at the table, so absorbed in his own thoughts.

“Huh,” asked Harry?

“Dad, are you alright?  You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” asked James?

“I don’t know…. I … I’m… overwhelmed,” replied Harry.

Both boys raised their eyebrows at that and Al asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Harry rubbed his face for a few minutes before blurting out, “Multiples.”

“What,” asked James confused?

“Who were you talking to Dad,” asked Al?

“Rose’s doctor.”

“OK. Is something wrong with Rose,” asked Al?

“I’m worried about her.”

“Dad, it would be easier if you gave us more than a few words at a time,” replied James confused.

“It sounds like you were worried about Rose so you called her doctor and she told you something about multiples that freaked you out.  Is that right,” asked Al?

Harry nodded while running his hands through his hair.

“Right but James and I don’t know what you’re talking about.  I mean what does math have to do with Rose,” replied Al?

Harry laughed heartily for several minutes at his son’s response. They scowled at him and probably thought he was going crazy but he felt much better afterward.

“Sorry, boys, that was too funny.  Multiples, as in carrying more than one baby,” clarified Harry.

“Ohhhhh,” replied James and Al.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Al said, “Rose did mention she thought she was having more than one this morning because of her hormones.”

“Did she,” asked Harry surprised?

“Yeah, she just finished yelling at James for touching her and Lily tried to calm her down.  She told her it was the hormones but Rose said it was ridiculous that there must be more than one in there.  It was quite funny actually,” replied Al.

Harry scowled at him and Al added, “I guess it’s not so funny to you.”

“So the doctor thinks she’s having twins, that’s why she’s been so crazy lately,” asked James?

“Watch it,” growled Harry before taking a deep breath and continuing, “No, she said that her hormone levels were what you would expect for someone that was carrying multiples.  She said it could be twins or more.”

“More,” gasped Al horrified?

Harry nodded

“No wonder you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” mumbled James.

Just then the door to the kitchen opened and Rose walked in. She had one of Harry’s button-down shirts on, it only covered the top of her thighs but her hands were completely covered by the long sleeves.  She was sniffling and her face was all red and puffy.  When she saw Harry she practically threw herself in his lap and began crying on his shoulder.  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head asking, “Rose, love, what’s wrong?”

She took a minute to calm herself down enough that she could talk and said, “I thought you had gone back to work.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere, love.  You’re stuck with me,” replied Harry smiling while wiping the tears off her face before kissing the tip of her nose.

She smiled shyly at him making Harry raise his eyebrows before asking, “Do I want to know what that look means?”

Rose leaned in and whispered in his ear so that James and Al couldn’t hear, “It means I’m going to have my wicked way with you tonight.”

Harry grinned and said, “Sounds brilliant love, but let’s get you some dinner first.  Do you have a preference?”

“Chinese.”

“Again,” groaned Al and James at the same time.

Harry glared at the boys before saying, “Of course, Chinese it is. I’ll order it now.”

Rose stuck out her tongue at the boys when Harry got up to go order the food.

Al rolled his eyes and James showed her his middle finger making Rose laugh.

“So Rose have you picked out any baby names yet,” asked Al?

“No, I haven’t even thought about it.  I don’t even know if we’re going to find out what we’re having,” replied Rose.

“You know, James is a great name,” said James smirking.

Al laughed and Rose asked, “Don’t you think it might be strange for Harry to have two sons with the same name?”

James seemed to seriously consider this and countered, “Maybe, perhaps Jamie would be a better choice.”

Rose laughed and said, “I’ll keep that in mind James.”

“It might be a girl anyway, James,” added Al.

“Jamie can be used for either a boy or a girl, it’s perfect,” grinned James!

Al and Rose both cracked up laughing drawing Harry back into the room, “What’s so funny?”

“James thinks you should name the baby Jamie, he said it’s the perfect name for either a boy or a girl,” gasped Al holding his stomach.

Harry smiled and said, “Jamie, very original James.”

“What,” scoffed James?

“And if there’s two, should I name the other Sirius,” asked Rose teasingly?

“Ha. Ha. Ha,” replied James while Al laughed on.  It took them all a minute to realize that Harry wasn’t laughing.

“Harry?”

Harry turned away and looked out the window for a minute before Rose got up and reached for his hand.  He turned to look at her and he looked stricken. 

“Are you alright,” asked Rose?

He nodded and said, “Yeah, sorry, I just got caught up in some memories.”

Rose reached out and cupped his cheek with her hand and smiled as he closed his eyes and leaned into it.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s fine, love, you didn’t do anything wrong,” replied Harry sincerely, before kissing her hand softly.

Rose didn’t look convinced and said quietly; “I wish I could take all the pain away for you.”

Harry smiled and said, “You do love, you do.”

“Hey Dad, would you ever show us your memories of him?  So we could see what he was like,” asked James curiously?

Harry looked at his son surprised by the question and saw Al nodding his head in agreement.  “I guess I could, I never thought of it to tell you the truth.”

“Would you ever show us some of the war,” asked Al seriously?

Harry looked at him thoughtfully while Rose curled up against his chest and pulled his arms around her.  He subconsciously moved them to rest on her stomach and she smiled up at him. Finally, he said, “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

After a minute James said, “So tomorrow’s the big day, Al.  Are you going to tell us what you applied for?”

Al smiled and said, “No.  I’m not telling you unless I get accepted!  Rose, are you nervous?”

Rose laughed and said, “I haven’t even really thought about it lately. I’ve been kind of preoccupied with everything else.”

“You applied to be a healer, right,” asked James?

Rose nodded while looking away.  Harry thought she was a terrible liar and smirked down at her.

“I’m sure you’ll get in Rose, you’re brilliant,” replied Al.

She smiled and said, “Thanks Al. I have to admit I’m quite curious about what you picked.”

“Just remember what I said little bro, there’s always Quidditch,” smirked James.

“I wonder what Lily will want to do,” asked Al trying to deflect the attention off of him?

“She’s good at Quidditch too,” said James.

“Honestly, James, not everyone wants to be a professional Quidditch player,” huffed Rose making everyone laugh.

James just shrugged.

“Although, at least on the off season I’ll have a full time nanny,” smirked Rose.

James spluttered while everyone continued to laugh.

“Speaking of Lily, where is she,” asked Harry?

“She was at Mum’s with us and then she went over to Scorpius’,” replied Al.

Harry nodded just before the doorbell rang and he turned to go get the food. Rose turned to gather some plates but she wasn’t tall enough to reach so she tried to stretch on her toes when suddenly Al yelled, “Bloody hell Rose! Let me get them!”

She turned shocked at his outburst, and looked about ready to cry.

“Al, don’t yell at her!” snapped James.

Al took in her state and said, “I’m sorry Rose; I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just I didn’t want to find out what you’re wearing under my Dad’s shirt, and I was going to if you kept trying to reach those plates.”

Harry walked in with the food and saw that Rose was close to tears and asked, “What happened?”

“Al’s an arsehole,” replied James.

Rose moved away from the cabinets and grabbed the bag of food from Harry, placing it on the table.  She started to pull out the food with her back turned to them, while Al got the plates down and brought them over to the table.

“Is anyone going to tell me what happened,” asked Harry irritably?

“It’s nothing, Harry.  Let’s just eat,” replied Rose not making eye contact with him.

He glared at Al who caved and said, “I yelled at her for trying to reach the plates, alright.  That shirt doesn’t exactly keep her covered when she’s stretching. I already apologized. Can we eat now?”

Harry clenched his jaw for a minute trying to reign in his temper before he walked over to Rose and pulled her into a hug.  She snuggled into him for a minute before stepping away and quietly said, “I think I’m going to just eat upstairs, I’m pretty tired.”

“Are you sure, love,” asked Harry concerned?

“Yeah,” replied Rose looking down.  She then turned to grab her plate and left the kitchen with a quiet, “Night.”

Harry waited until he heard her go up the stairs before he turned and clipped Al on the back of the head with his hand, “What the fuck Al!”

“Ow. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at her,” replied Al rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“What kind of a git yells at a pregnant witch,” asked James?

“Jesus Al, it took me all day to calm her down.  She’s upset enough as it is, without you adding to it,” snapped Harry grabbing his food and storming out of the kitchen.

“I said I was sorry,” yelled Al after him!

When Harry got to his room he could hear that Rose was crying through the door. Sighing heavily he went in and the sight nearly broke his heart.  She was face down on the bed sobbing uncontrollably.  Her plate of food was on the nightstand untouched. He quickly put his plate down and rushed to her side.  He sat down on the bed and pulled her into his lap, rubbing her back while whispering soothing words to her.  After what seemed like an eternity to Harry, Rose finally calmed down enough to eat. Harry joined her and they ate mostly in silence until Rose said, “I think I’ve cried more today than I have in my entire life.”

Harry smiled sympathetically at her and she added, “I’m sorry.”

Surprised he asked, “What on earth are you sorry for, Rose?”

“I’m such a burden,” wailed Rose crying again.

“No, Rose, you’re not a burden,” replied Harry pulling her in for a hug. “I love you so much, I can’t imagine my life without you.  I’m sorry that this pregnancy is so hard on you.  I wish I could make it better, love.”

“So you don’t regret being with me,” asked Rose looking up at him with tears streaming down her face?

“Never,” replied Harry firmly, before pulling her up for a kiss.

When they broke apart Rose asked, “Harry, do you think something is wrong? I mean it doesn’t seem normal that I’m such a mess all the time.”

"Rose, I'm sure everything is fine. I am worried about how hard this pregnancy has been on you though," replied Harry sincerely.

Rose nodded and seemed to consider her words before finally asking, "Was it like this for Aunt Ginny?"

"Rose. Stop. You are not her. You are my Rose and I love you. Don't try and overthink this," replied Harry.

"I know, I do, I just don't know what to expect and this seems so much harder than I thought it was going to be," replied Rose quietly.

"Hey, you're doing great, love," said Harry kissing her softly.

She smiled tentatively at him then asked, "So you're not worried that something could be wrong with the baby?"

"No, not at all, love. But I'm not going to lie; I am worried about you. Besides the mood swings and the insatiable sex drive are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I feel fine except for the fact that I'm always either crying or wanting to have sex."

"Well, I'm not leaving your side from now on so we can have as much sex as you want. Maybe that will keep you from crying so much," replied Harry grinning.

She giggled then asked, "Are you sure? Don't you have to go to work?"

"I'm positive. I can work from home for the next couple of days then we were leaving for vacation anyway. I do have to attend the Ministry Ball Saturday, but you're going to be there with me."

"If I get accepted," replied Rose.

"You will get accepted Rose, you're too brilliant not to," countered Harry smiling.

Rose beamed at him and pulled him in for a kiss. It turned passionate very quickly and Harry found himself being dominated again. He broke apart from her kisses and looked deeply in her eyes, putting his hand in her hair, temporarily holding her in place and said, "Relax love, we have all the time in the world. I promise I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled shyly at him and slowed down her pace keeping eye contact with him for the entirety of their lovemaking. When they were both exhausted, Rose curled up in Harry's arms and her last thought before falling to sleep was … _How did I get so lucky?_

……………………………

The next morning Harry woke before Rose and slipped out of bed.  He needed to head to Gringotts to pick up Al’s gift and also get Rose’s keys and cards to his account.  He wasn’t sure when the Ministry owls would arrive and he wanted to be here when they did, so he hurried out of the house, leaving a quick note for Rose in case she woke before he was back.  To his annoyance it took him most of the day to finalize everything at Gringotts and he was worried that he missed the moment when they all opened their letters. He burst through the door in a panic, “Sorry, I got held up at Gringotts!”

“We’re in the dining room,” yelled Rose back!

“I just have to grab something out of my office, I’ll be right in,” replied Harry, quickly taking his cloak off and heading to his office.  He grabbed the small box he had for Rose and went straight to the dining room.

“Sorry,” started Harry but he stopped when he saw a lot more people than he expected.

“Nice of you to finally join us, Potter,” replied Malfoy.

“Oh stop, Draco.  It’s fine Harry, we’ve only been waiting a short time,” replied Astoria smiling.

He looked around the table and, in addition to the Malfoy's, he saw both his sons, Bridget, Lily, Rose, Hermione, Ginny, Cormac, and to his complete shock, Ron.  He raised his eyebrows at Hermione but she just shook her head.

“Right, well, Al, here’s what held me up,” and he placed a large Gringotts envelope in front of Al, making him raise his eyebrows in question. 

Harry then moved to Rose’s side and said, “And for you my love,” handing her a small box and kissing her softly. He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach and said, “What’s everyone waiting for, open up those letters!”

They all laughed and began opening their letters, at the same time Hermione handed Harry a letter that came for him. “It’s the list of new Aurors, I finally get to know their names.”  Before he could open it Al jumped up out of his seat and said, “Bloody Hell! I got in Scor!” 

Scorpius jumped up and said, “Me too!” and they both hugged for a minute before realizing they were hugging and quickly separated making everyone laugh.  Bridget and Lily both got up and kissed them.

“Does this mean we finally get to know,” whined James?

Everyone laughed and Al turned to Harry and said, “I’m part of your new recruits, Dad.  I’m going to be an Auror.”

Harry looked shocked for a moment before he grinned and asked, “Why couldn’t you have told me this was what you wanted?”

Al shrugged and said, “I didn’t want you to feel pressured, to try and find my application and give me special treatment. I wanted to get in on my own without anyone knowing who I was.  It was the only way I would feel like I truly deserved it.  People will still say I only got in because of you, but I know that’s not true and that’s all that matters.”

Harry grinned and pulled Al in for a hug, he held him for a minute before pulling away and saying, “I’m so proud of you. Not because you’re becoming an Auror like me, but because of your strength of character in how you did it.”

“Dad,” whined Al blushing making everyone laugh. He was quickly smothered by his mother’s hug and then when she was finished, Bridget was kissing him passionately, making everyone look away.

“I got in as well. You’re looking at the first Malfoy to become an Auror,” said Scorpius shocking his father speechless. His mother got up and gave him a big hug though and said, “I’m so proud of you sweetheart,” kissing his cheek.

Once his mother released him, Lily kissed him heatedly, but when she was finished she smacked him on the arm and said, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

Harry grinned and said, “Scorpius, you were exactly who I was trying to find during selections.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.  Congratulations,” replied Harry shaking his hand.

 “Rose, aren’t you going to open your letter,” asked Hermione?

Harry turned to see she still hadn’t opened it and walked over to her and said, “Rose, love, you have to open it.”

“I’m scared.  What if I didn’t get picked?”

Harry pushed his present closer to her and said, “Alright Rose, open your present first then.”

She looked at him curiously but picked the small box up and opened it, gasping at what was inside.  It was a small flask with white wispy threads inside.

“Rose, I promised you I would give you this when you got accepted.  I have no doubt you’re going to get accepted.  You’re too brilliant not to, love.”

“Oh Harry, are you sure?  This is so personal,” started Rose but Harry cut her off and said, “Yes, Rose, I’m positive.  Now, will you open your letter?”

She bit her lip for a minute before nodding and Harry grabbed the letter and handed it to her, taking the box out of her hands and placing it on the table, where the others looked at it curiously. She slowly opened the letter and began scanning it, making everyone wait what seemed like an excruciatingly long time.  Slowly she began to grin and Harry wrapped her in a huge hug and said, “I told you, love. I’m so happy for you.”

She cried a little in relief and gave him a kiss that lasted a little longer than the others were comfortable with but when they finally stopped Al asked, “So I take it you got in as a healer?”

She shook her head no making them all frown in confusion.

“What do you mean, Rose,” asked Hermione confused?

“I didn’t get accepted as a healer, I never applied,” replied Rose.

“What,” asked Ron before continuing, “All this time, I thought you wanted to be a healer or a dancer, and since you gave up on dancing that only leaves a healer.  What did you apply for?”

Rose looked at her Mum before answering, “I applied to be an Unspeakable.”

Hermione gasped and said, “Oh my… Rose… It’s nearly impossible to get accepted into that program.”

“I know.  That’s why I didn’t tell anyone.  I figured I would never get in.”

“But you’re happy, Rose, so you got in, didn’t you,” asked Al?

Rose nodded, grinning broadly before squealing, “I did!”

Hermione gasped and quickly made her way to Rose, hugging her tightly.  Rose was in tears at this point and Harry watched as Ron made his way to her and offered her a hug as well.  He watched him like a hawk but Ron didn’t try to hurt her, just simply said, “I’m so proud of you Rose, you’re just like you’re mother; bloody brilliant.”

“Thanks Daddy.”

Draco seemed to finally snap out of his stupor and said, “An Auror, really, Scorpius?”

“Yes, Father, an Auror.”

Draco sighed heavily before moving towards Scorpius and said, “Well, if this is what you want, then Congratulations.” He pulled Scorpius in for a hug, surprising him, and clapped his shoulder a few times before saying, “I’m obviously surprised, but don’t think that means I’m not proud of you… because I am.”

Scorpius only nodded in response because he was getting choked up.  Draco pulled away and Lily quickly moved in to hug Scorpius again.

“Well, I think we should all go out to celebrate,” said Harry happily.

“As long as it’s not for Chinese,” said Al making Rose toss the bow from her present at him and yell, “Prat!”

James and Lily laughed making everyone curious, “Why not Chinese,” asked Hermione?

“Because it’s all Rose ever wants to eat, therefore, it’s all we eat,” replied Lily smiling.

“Hey, it’s not my fault!  The babies obviously like Chinese food. Harry, are you sure you’re not part Chinese,” asked Rose teasingly?

Harry laughed and said, “Yes, I’m pretty sure, love.”

“I suppose I can make an exception for one night, Al. Why don’t you and Scorpius pick the restaurant?”

“Actually, boys, I think I know of a place. Malfoy, what do you think of taking them to the club,” asked Harry cryptically?

Draco seemed surprised but then he grinned and said, ‘I think that’s perfect.  We can have a private room for dinner and then if they want they can go to the club after.”

“What kind of club,” asked Rose excitedly?

Harry smirked at her and said, “just a regular club with music and dancing.”

Draco snorted but didn’t elaborate further.

Rose squealed and kissed Harry before saying, “I better go get changed then.”

He smiled at her as she left the room and Al said, “Well, what do you think Bridget, care to go dancing with me?”

Bridget laughed and said, “Do you think you can keep up with me baby?”

Al growled and pulled her close and said, “You know I can witch.”

There was some chuckling and Draco cleared his throat and said, “Alright, why don’t we all meet back here in an hour. Potter, I’ll let them know to expect us.”

“Thanks,” replied Harry trying to dodge Hermione’s questions.  Everyone soon dispersed to get ready, leaving him alone with Hermione and Ron.

“Have you known all along she was applying to be an unspeakable,” asked Hermione curiously?

Harry laughed and replied, “No, not all along. She told me on our first real date.”

“Harry!” yelled Hermione slapping his arm, “That was months ago!”

“What?  She made me promise not to tell anyone!”

They both laughed until Ron suddenly said, “She said babies.”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other confused and Harry said, “I’m sorry?”

Ron sighed and said, “She said babies, as in plural, more than one baby.”

“Oh,” replied Harry simply.

“Harry?  Is there something you’ve forgotten to mention,” asked Hermione?

“No, I mean we don’t know for sure but Rose thinks there’s more than one.  And she’s been exhibiting some strange symptoms so I called the doctor and she said it was pretty likely that Rose was carrying multiples.  But we won’t know for sure for another three weeks,” said Harry quickly.

Hermione was gaping at him and she turned and found a chair to sit in.

“So she’s having twins,” asked Ron?

“Maybe, or more,” replied Harry quietly.

“What do you mean more,” demanded Hermione?

“I don’t know Hermione, alright, it’s just what the doctor said,” sighed Harry tiredly.

“It was going to be hard enough with one baby, but Harry, how is she supposed to be an unspeakable with more than one baby at home,” Hermione asked frantically?

“Hermione, I’ll take care of it.  Don’t worry so much,” replied Harry.

Ron laughed cruelly and said, “Yeah, like you took care of my sister?  How much help were you when James and Al were younger?”

“Ron,” gasped Hermione horrified!

Harry clenched his jaw, it was a low blow, but unfortunately it was true. He was hardly around at all when his sons were younger. Harry took a deep breath and said what he hadn’t told anyone besides Rose, “I’m retiring.”

“What,” asked Hermione shocked?

“I said I’m retiring.  No one knows about it besides Rose, Kingsley and my assistant Head. I’m making it public during my speech at the Ministry Ball on Saturday.”

“But…but…how…why,” stuttered Hermione?

“Why? Because it’s time, Hermione.  It’s been just a job to me for a while now and I want to spend more time with Rose and the babies.  How?  I’m going to help the assistant Head transition over the next few months.  I’ll come and do some lessons here and there but gradually less and less as the year goes on.”

“I can’t believe it Harry.  You’re still so young.  You could be Minister…wait a minute is that why Kingsley asked me, because he knew you were retiring?”

Harry looked at Hermione sternly and said, “Hermione, you were born for that position and you know it.  Don’t you dare doubt yourself because I’m retiring. You’re going to make a great Minister, or Ministress…wait is that even a word?”

They all laughed and Hermione got up and gave Harry a hug saying, “Thanks,” in his ear.  He nodded and pulled away looking at Ron.

“You’re really retiring,” asked Ron skeptically?

“Yup.”

“Because of Rosie?”

“Not because of Rose, but for her,” replied Harry sincerely before continuing, “Look, I know I was a rotten husband and an absentee father when I started as an Auror. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love Ginny, or my sons, but I’m older now so I understand how important love is, how important family is, and I’m not going to let it go.  Not this time.  I love Rose, more than I ever thought possible. I’m going to make the most of this new life that I’ve been given with her.”

 Hermione started crying and wrapped Harry in a hug, surprising him, “Why are you crying?”

“That…was…so…sweet,” bawled Hermione.

Harry looked incredulously at Ron who shrugged and said, “It **_was_** kind of sappy, but since it’s my daughter you’re talking about, I’m alright with that.”

“Right.  Well, we should get changed.  Malfoy will be back soon,” replied Harry uneasily.

“Oh. I forgot to ask what kind of place are we going to,” asked Hermione pulling away from Harry and wiping her face?

“It’s fairly dressy, Hermione,” said Harry simply.

“All my dressy things are still at home,” frowned Hermione.

“It’s still you’re home Hermione, I’m not keeping you from going there,” replied Ron.

Hermione bit her lip and looked at Harry. Ron noticed this and sighed, “Look, I know I messed up.  Badly. I’m sorry.  I truly am. If you want I can stay here while you go home and change.”

Harry and Hermione exchanged another glance and Hermione said, “No, you need to change as well, so we can go together.”

Harry was obviously surprised and he looked like he was going to speak up so Hermione raised her hand stopping him and said, “I’ll bring an Auror with me Harry.  I’ll only be a half an hour and I think Ron has earned a half an hour of my time.”  When she was finished she kissed Harry on the cheek and left the dining room, with Ron a few steps behind her just as surprised as Harry.

Harry shook his head then proceeded up the stairs to change, knowing he didn’t have much time left.  _He felt much better about things for some reason.  He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, maybe it was the combination of everything but he couldn’t help but feel things were only going to get better for him._

 


	10. Celebrating Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They family head out to celebrate Rose, Scorpius and Al's success.

I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry found himself waiting downstairs with everyone else for Rose, Lily and Bridget.  Lily and Bridget came down first and while Harry thought his daughter looked beautiful he would have liked it if she covered more of her skin. She had on very short black shorts with a white sequin tank top but the thing that caused him to squirm the most was the white thigh highs with little bows on the top and the exposed skin above them.  Add the very high black heels and he was a very unhappy father.  Scorpius was thrilled and pulled her into a passionate kiss, causing Harry to turn away from her frowning.  After a minute he heard James yell, “Hey, that’s enough!”

Draco asked, “Are we ready to go now?”

“No, we’re still waiting for Rose,” replied Hermione before continuing, “Harry, maybe you should go see if she’s alright?”

Harry looked at her questioningly so she clarified, “Maybe she’s not feeling well.”

Harry nodded and started to head upstairs but Rose was on her way down.  He stopped short and was positive he had never seen anyone so beautiful.  Her long hair was down and falling over her shoulders. She was wearing a sparkly pale blue dress that matched her eyes; it had spaghetti straps and was very tight on her breasts, showing a fair amount of cleavage, but then it flowed out directly under them.  There were several layers of silk in light blue and silver and the dress was very short, barely reaching the middle of her thighs.  Her legs were bare and shimmering in the light and she had on very high heels.  Harry’s first thought was to scoop her up and bring her straight to the bedroom. He grinned at her and held out his hand for her to take.  When she took it, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear sexily, “You look simply delicious love.  I can’t wait to ravish you tonight.”

Rose giggled and kissed him briefly before heading down the stairs to greet everyone. Harry turned to see Ron scowling at him but nothing could wipe the grin off his face tonight.  He was the luckiest man alive right now with Rose by his side. Harry looked around and noticed that everyone had a date and was ready to go except James, “James, are you bringing a date?”

James grinned widely and said, “No. It’s more exciting this way.  I have no idea who’s going to end up in my bed at the end of the night.”

There were some chuckles from the guys but Ginny shrieked, “James Sirius Potter!  We need to have a serious conversation about your whoring around!”

James looked amused and said, “Sure, Mum. Tomorrow?”

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him before she turned and stormed towards the floo, “What’s the address?” she snapped.

“Magical WVM,” said Draco.

Ginny quirked her eyebrow but called out the name and left with Cormac.  Draco and Astoria went next and slowly they all arrived at their destination. It was a large white room, with white leather furniture and a white rug.  There were several attendants, all dressed in black, waiting for them.  The attendant that was the most dressed up, wearing a very formal suit, moved forward to shake Harry’s hand, “Mr. Potter, so good to see you again.”

Harry shook his hand, smiled and said, “You as well, Nicholas, and please call me Harry.”

Nicholas smiled and said, “Now, how would you and Mr. Malfoy like everyone to be admitted?”

Draco stepped forward and asked, “Is one more advantageous with tonight’s clientele?”

Nicholas looked at everyone briefly before stopping in front of Bridget, “I think this lovely lady will need both of your protections.”

Al pulled Bridget behind him and snapped, “What are you talking about?”

Harry held up his hand to calm Al down and said, “Why do you say that Nicholas?”

Nicholas looked at Harry and said simply, “She is veela.”

Harry looked surprised and Al asked Bridget, “You are?”

She seemed surprised as well and said, “No, I don’t think so.  I mean a long time ago one of my great great grandfather’s married a veela but that was ages ago and I have never shown any veela traits.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.  I have to take a little of everyone’s blood to register you and then we can get you moving along,” said Nicholas motioning for his workers to come forward.  They all had a small handheld machine with them that pricked everyone’s finger and gave a summary of each of them.  Nicholas did Bridget’s himself and smiled at the results, turning it for Bridget to see, “I knew it.  See, you are veela.”

Bridget seemed genuinely surprised and Al leaned next to her to see the results as well.  He kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand supportively.

Harry smiled and said, “Right, then I guess Bridget will need bracelets from both Draco and myself.”

“Of course, Mr. Potter. May I also recommend a guard as well?”

“Wait, why does she need a guard?  What are we protecting her from?” asked Al annoyed.

“Vampires,” replied Harry before continuing, “What makes this place so unique is that it’s not just witches and wizards, but also werewolves, veela, vampires and muggles.  Since vampires are extremely attracted to veela, Bridget will need the protection of both Draco and I.  While the rules dictate that you can’t attack another patron while here and everyone follows the rules, it’s better to be safe.”

Harry waited for everyone to nod in understanding before he said, “Nicholas, I think a guard would be a good idea, thank you.”

Everyone had been registered and was looking at their results so Harry went to Draco and pulled him aside, “Do you want to cover your family and I’ll cover the rest?”

“Fine, but I think Scorpius is going to want Lily to be covered by me as well,” smirked Draco.

Harry glared at Draco before telling Nicholas; “Everyone will be covered by me except Draco’s family.”

Nicholas nodded and began fastening black leather cuffs on everyone’s wrists with the name “Potter” written in silver across it. They were magically fastened so that they couldn’t be removed.  He then moved to Astoria and Scorpius and fastened them with black leather cuffs with the name “Malfoy” written in silver across it. He then moved to Bridget and fastened her with two cuffs, one each of “Malfoy” and “Potter.” Finally Harry and Draco were given cuffs of their own but theirs were silver with the name in black.

“Dad, can’t we cover Lily too,” asked Scorpius causing Draco to chuckle as he looked towards Harry.

“Absolutely, as soon as you marry her,” said Harry seriously, looking straight at Scorpius.

“Dad,” gasped Lily mortified!

“Harry,” chastised Ginny.

But Scorpius just nodded at Harry before taking Lily’s hand and moving towards the door where the attendants were waiting for them to follow. Everyone left the room but Harry held Rose back and said, “Nicholas, I would like to introduce you to my fiancé, Rose.”

Nicholas smiled at Rose and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you and Congratulations, Mr. Potter.”

Harry beamed and said, “Thank you.  I wanted to make sure that Rose was added to my membership here, same privileges as me, in case she wants to come back without me.”

“I will make sure that it is done before dinner is finished.”

“Thank you.”

Harry and Rose then followed Nicholas out of the room and Rose gasped as she walked through the hallways, the building was magnificent but what really caught her eyes was the wall of glass that showed the entire club. She smiled widely at Harry and he said, “Do you like it?”

Rose nodded excitedly and he smiled at her and replied, “I’m glad.”  Then he pointed at the glass wall and said, “They can’t see us its a one way view.”

She nodded and looked at the other side of the hallway, which was door after door with a different name on each.  They seemed to be in alphabetical order but she missed the beginning looking at the club.  She noticed “Malfoy,” followed by a few names she didn’t know and then “Potter.” She stopped thinking they were going in the room but Harry shook his head and said, “Later,” so she kept walking until they reached an elevator and took it up several levels to the top.  They exited the elevator and entered a large private dining room that had an incredible view overlooking the club.

“Harry, this is amazing,” said Rose in awe.

Hermione turned from the glass wall and said, “It is something Harry.  How long have you been coming here?”

Harry shrugged and said, “A while.”

Ginny snorted causing everyone to look at her but she didn’t say anything further.

“Dad, since you’re a member does that mean that Al and I are members too?  Can we come here whenever we want?” asked James excitedly.

“Hey! What about me?” whined Lily?

“You’re still underage, Lils,” replied Al.

Harry smiled and said, “We can talk about it another time boys.”

Lily stuck out her tongue at her brothers making them roll their eyes.

“What about me Dad?  Am I allowed to come here without you?” asked Scorpius.

Before Draco could reply, Astoria stepped in and said, “I don’t think your father would appreciate that.  After all he comes here to get away from everything. That would be pretty hard to do with you here as well.”

Draco pulled her in for a chaste kiss then said, “We can talk about it later, Scorpius.”

Everyone sat down at the table as the food was brought out.

“I’m surprised you’re so understanding of this place, Astoria,” said Ginny stiffly.

She looked surprised and said, “Why wouldn’t I be? My husband deserves to have a place that’s all his own just as much as I do.  He doesn’t give me a hard time about spending a week at the spa or shopping whenever I want, so why should I be bothered if he goes out a few nights a week?”

Ginny scowled but only replied, “Oh. Well, good for you then.”

Rose was quite curious as it was becoming apparent that this was a sore spot for her Aunt and Harry.  She noticed that his jaw was clenched during the entire conversation but he refused to look up.  She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, causing him to look at her and smile. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I don’t mind at all if you come here, love.”

He grinned and whispered back, “Good to know, but I’m planning on bringing you with me, love.”

She smiled and kissed him quickly on the lips before moving back away from him.  They both looked up to see everyone staring at them.  Harry cleared his throat a little and said, “Did I miss something?”

Draco laughed and said, “Drinks, Potter. They’re waiting for you to decide what would you like to drink.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Replied Harry blushing slightly as Rose giggled beside him.  He was handed a drink menu and asked, “Is wine alright with everyone?”

There was a general consensus that wine was fine so Harry ordered several bottles of wine.

“Actually, I’d like to make a Champagne toast so please also bring us a couple bottles of your best Champagne.” Added Draco before the waiter left the table.

As he turned to leave Rose leaned into Harry and whispered, “Harry, I don’t want to drink wine with the babies.”

Harry turned and said quietly, “Shit, Rose, I’m sorry. I thought it was all right to drink wine when you were pregnant.”

She smiled at him and said, “It may be but I’d rather not, love. Can you just get me some ginger ale?  It will help settle my stomach.”

He looked concerned and reached out a hand to her stomach and said, “Do you want to go home?”

She shook her head no but he didn’t look convinced so she added, “I’m fine, love, I promise.  I just need a ginger ale.”

He nodded and got up from the table to go get Rose’s drink.  All the attendants hurried towards him to help him and after a brief conversation and a wait, Harry returned to the table with her ginger ale.  He took a sip of it first, making her raise her eyebrows, before handing it to her, “Just checking.”

She shook her head in amusement then returned her attention to the table. There were so many of them it was hard to converse with everyone.  Harry was at one end of the table and Draco was at the other end.  Rose was on Harry’s right with Hermione and Ron next to her. Al and Bridget were on Harry’s left across from her, followed by Cormac and Ginny.  Astoria was next to Ginny on Draco’s right while Scorpius and Lily were on his left.  James was sitting in between Ron and Lily and across from his mother.

“So, Potter, tell me how you managed to pick my son to be part of your Aurors,” asked Draco?

“Yeah, Dad, how did you pick the Aurors this year?” asked Al curiously.

Harry grinned mischievously and took a sip of his wine before starting, “We did it completely different than usual this year. At first we started off the same as always but it became clear we needed to do something different. So, we talked about what we wanted to add to our current Aurors and then tried to figure out how to look for that in the applications.”

“What were you looking for?” asked James.

Harry smiled and said, “Witches.”

There was riotous laughter around the table and Al said, “Sorry, Dad, but I think you missed the mark on that one.”

Harry smiled and said, “Actually, you’re wrong, Al. I took a look at the list of selected Auror recruits and more than half of them are witches.”

“Sweet,” replied Al, before Bridget whacked him on the back of his head. “Ouch!  I’m only kidding!”

Scorpius snorted and said, “What else did you look for Harry?”

“To be honest, Scorpius, we were looking for you. We were looking for families that had a greater understanding of the dark arts; families that traditionally wouldn’t have worked for the ministry.”

“Purebloods,” asked Hermione raising her eyebrow?

Harry shrugged and said, “We have a lack of Aurors who understand the history of the dark arts; not just how to defend against it but that know how it works.  We thought our best chances of finding that would be with pureblood families.”

“But you didn’t know any of our names?” asked Al.

Harry smirked and said, “No, we didn’t. But we improvised. We sorted through all the applications removing those that took muggle studies.”

“Harry, that’s horrible!” interrupted Hermione appalled.

Harry held up his hand and said, “Let me finish Hermione.  We did this for two reasons.  The first was that when we looked at all our current female Aurors, they all took Runes, Arithmancy or both as electives.  The second was that we knew that most purebloods still weren’t taking muggle studies.”

“So that’s how you got us.  Al and I both took Runes and Arithmancy,” replied Scorpius.

“Oh no.  We didn’t stop there. We then read each essay out loud to the group and only unanimous agreement got you in.  I can’t tell you how many applicants were tossed because we didn’t like their essays.  We must have read hundreds of them.  Those of you that made the cut had essays that truly moved us.  Some of them were haunting, some were funny, some were inspiring but they were all incredible.  That’s a hard feat to do when you have a room full of Aurors that have seen and heard all manner of things.”

“What was the essay that moved you the most, Harry?” asked Rose.

Harry’s face became grave and he said, “There was one describing the applicants rape.  It was very detailed and it left us all speechless.”

“Merlin,” gasped Astoria, “That’s horrible.”

Harry nodded and said, “Yes, it was. I don’t think any of us were able to speak so we just took turns nodding to select that one.”

“I still don’t understand how I got in. I didn’t write about anything like that,” said Scorpius quietly.

Harry looked at him and said, “Your essay was one of the most honest essays we received, Scorpius.  There was no bullshit in it.  It was pure and honest and what you said was exactly what we were looking for.”

“But how do you know which one was mine?”

“As soon as you said you got in, it all clicked for me.”

Scorpius just nodded and avoided Draco’s questioning gaze.

“So Dad, can you tell us the other names of the Aurors that were selected?” asked Al.

Harry shrugged and said, “Sure, you’re going to find out on Saturday anyway.”  Harry reached into his inner pocket and pulled out the small roll of parchment and unrolled it then read out the names… there were some that were recognizable, with most nodding, Bridget said one of them went to Beauxbatons, but when Harry said, “Demetri Nott,” Rose choked on her drink.

Harry stopped and asked, “Are you alright, love?”

She wiped herself off, stood up and said, “Yes, sorry. I’m just going to head to the loo.” Then she turned and practically ran out of the room.

Confused Harry turned to see his sons exchanging glances and he asked, “What am I missing?”

Just as James went to reply, Lily cut him off and said, “Nothing that we’re going to talk about right now.”

Ron was frowning and said, “Why does that name sound familiar to me?”

Hermione pinched his leg and glared at him, making him jump and ask, “What?”

Harry huffed and said, “Honestly, will someone just tell me.  Did Rose date him or something?  It’s not like I’m going to do anything to the kid.”

“Or something,” replied Al stiffly.

Harry raised his eyebrow but said nothing else.

They ate in an awkward silence until Rose returned and Harry stood to help her to her seat whispering in her ear, “Are you alright, love?”

“I’m fine, Harry.”

He looked at her curiously but sat down and returned to eating.  When the food was being cleared away Astoria said, “I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you Harry. And Draco.”

“Aren’t you going to stay, Mum?” asked Scorpius confused.

She smiled at him and said, “No, dear. This is your fathers place. I’m not going to intrude.”

“Astoria, it’s fine, stay,” replied Draco holding her hand.

Before Astoria could reply Ginny snorted and said drunkenly, “You know I used to think this place was a brothel the amount of money Harry spent here.  In a way I guess it is.  I mean it’s where they meet their whores.”

There were several gasps and Harry slammed his glass down but before he could respond, Astoria did.  She looked at Ginny with pity then said, “A mistress is not a whore, Ginerva.  And believe me there is nothing wrong with having a mistress.  In fact, it’s accepted in all the pureblood families. You should know this. Furthermore you shouldn’t disrespect the woman that so lovingly took care of your husband for years, when you refused to.”

Ginny stood up unsteadily and yelled, “How dare you!”

Astoria raised her eyebrow and said, “How dare I what? Judge you?  You should be ashamed of yourself!  The way you treated Harry was disgraceful!”

Ginny was furious and turned to Harry and yelled, “What did you tell her?”

Harry stood up and said, “I didn’t tell her anything!”

“He’s telling the truth, Ginerva.  He didn’t tell me anything.  I make it a point of staying on good terms with my husband’s mistress; in fact, we talk weekly. A couple of months ago she asked if she could see Draco more often since her other lover was no longer in the picture. Turns out that my husband and Harry have shared the same mistress for the last ten years. She’s a beautiful, intelligent woman, who only hoped that Harry finally found someone to make him happy, someone to give him what he so desperately wanted.”

Harry and Draco were both standing but neither really knew what to do.  Everyone at the table seemed to be speechless at what was being discussed.

Ginny snorted and said, “And you think this is normal? You have no qualms about what your husband does?”

“None,” replied Astoria defiantly holding her head high.

Finally Harry moved towards her and growled, “Gin, I think that’s enough.”

“What’s the matter Harry, are you afraid of what everyone is going to think of you?” asked Ginny cruelly.

“No.  I’m afraid of what they’re going to think of you,” replied Harry angrily.

She rolled her eyes as Harry grabbed her arm and started moving her towards the door.  She decided to attack him one last time and asked, “Is she here tonight, Harry?”

Harry opened and closed his mouth, looked at Draco who shrugged, then looked to Nicholas who nodded once.

Everyone saw this and Ginny snorted before she said, “Well, I have no interest in seeing your mistress, Harry!”

By this time Cormac had moved to the door and Harry moved her towards Cormac, who said, “Sorry, Harry.  I think she had too much to drink.”

Harry nodded, his jaw clenched and watched as Cormac and Ginny left.  He kept his back to everyone to try and rein his anger in. 

“I’m so sorry, Harry.  I shouldn’t have goaded her,” said Astoria softly.

Harry turned and said, “It’s not your fault, Astoria.”

“It is.  I know better. I should have left well enough alone.  I’m going to head home now,” replied Astoria gathering her things.

“Astoria, please, don’t leave because of this. Ginny and I are divorced for many reasons, this was just one of them.  Don’t let this ruin your night,” replied Harry sincerely.

Astoria moved to Harry and gave him a hug and whispered, “You do deserve to be happy, Harry.  Never doubt that.”  She then kissed him on the cheek before moving to Scorpius to do the same. Draco walked her out and Harry was left with a silent room.

“Sorry about all that,” said Harry to the room before picking up his glass and taking a sip.  He could see that Ron, James, Al and Lily all looked somewhat angry and he knew he was probably going to have to explain.  Sighing, he said, “Well, go ahead, I know you want to ask me about it.”

“Did you really have a mistress,” asked Al angrily?

“Yes.”

“Harry,” gasped Hermione disappointed.

“Why, Daddy?” asked Lily hurt.

“You’re mother and I had some difficulties and this was how we chose to solve it.  I’m not going to explain further because that is between your mother and I, but it was a decision we made together.” Replied Harry tightly.

 Ron snorted then accused, “It didn’t sound like something my sister was alright with.”

“Ron,” said Hermione trying to intervene.

“No, he’s right Hermione.  She wasn’t happy with it, not in the end.”

“So, why didn’t you stop?” asked James.

Harry sighed, then ran his hands through his hair and replied, “It was only one of our issues.  In the end there were just too many issues to fix. We were constantly fighting and we could barely stand to be in the same room with each other. We decided we were better off without each other.  We thought that maybe we could find happiness with others; so we decided to get a divorce.”

Rose reached under the table and squeezed his hand. Surprised, he turned to her and saw she was smiling gently at him.  He let go of her hand and wrapped it in her hair then pulled her forward to kiss her.  When he finished kissing her he pulled away and grinned, “And I am definitely happy now.”

Draco came back in and said, “How about we all head to the club now?”

They all started to get up and Harry smiled gratefully at him, which Scorpius noticed.  “Hey Dad?”

“Yes, Scorpius?”

“I’d like to meet her, your mistress. She’s here tonight, isn’t she?”

Draco clenched his jaw then nodded curtly.

Al, James and Lily all indicated they wanted to meet her too.  Harry looked at them all for a minute before he finally said, “Fine.  But remember this, she made me very happy for over 10 years, so you will not be disrespectful in any way, do you understand?”

They all nodded in agreement and sighing, Harry grabbed Rose’s hand and headed out of the room and towards the club.

Author’s Note:  Well, what do you think?  Found out a little bit about what Ginny wasn’t doing with Harry during their marriage.  Also, someone from Rose’s past gets introduced...  Any ideas on what her relationship with Demetri was like?  Or Harry’s relationship with his mistress?

……………..

Everyone except Draco and Scorpius were brought to the door labeled “Potter” and Harry moved forward to place his palm on the panel next to the door.  After a few seconds the door clicked and Harry opened it to let everyone in.  It was a large room with several couches and chairs, a small bar and a bathroom. 

Nicholas said, “Perhaps I should key your fiancé into the room now, Mr. Potter.”

Harry nodded and turned back to the doorway with Rose, who stepped forward to meet Nicholas.

“It will only take a moment Miss Weasley,” said Nicholas.

“Please, call me Rose,” she said smiling at him.

He nodded and said, “If you could place your palm against this panel here for just a minute, Rose.”

She smiled and did as he said.  He cast a few spells and punched several things into a keypad before there was a beep.  He smiled, waved his wand at Rose’s cuff, which turned silver like Harry’s, then said, “Ok, you should be all set, Rose.  Let’s just double check to make sure.”

Harry moved outside to the hallway with Rose and Nicholas closed the door, automatically locking it. After a few seconds Nicholas said, “Alright, Rose, give it a try.”

Rose placed her palm on the panel and after a few seconds the door clicked and Rose opened it smiling.  “Thank you, Nicholas.”

He blushed and said, “Not a problem, Rose.”

Harry smiled, amused at how Nicholas reacted to Rose, “Thanks Nicholas.”

Nicholas cleared his throat and nodded at Harry before stepping into the room to go over the rules of the club. “Alright before everyone heads inside, I need to let you know the rules.  There is no magic allowed inside the club, so all of your wands will need to remain in this room.”

There were several gasps of surprise but Harry moved to the wall and waved his hand, opening a secret compartment where he put his wand.  Reluctantly, everyone followed and put their wand in the compartment.  Harry closed it and it automatically disappeared, blending into the wall perfectly. 

Nicholas pulled out a small card and said seriously, “The rest of the rules while inside the club are as follows:

  *       “No picture taking, pointing, staring or harassing of fellow clients.”
  *       “No fighting, biting, burning, maiming, raping or killing of fellow clients.”
  *       “No oral, vaginal or anal sex while on the floor.”



“Finally, whatever happens in the club stays here. You will be bound to not reveal anything that happens inside once you leave here.  Any questions?”

“Bloody hell Harry, what kind of place is this?” asked Ron shocked.

“It’s just a precaution Mr. Weasley since we cater to so many different types of people.  We found it was important to have some basic ground rules so that everyone is safe and can enjoy themselves,” replied Nicholas reassuringly.

James chuckled and said, “Al, try not to maim anyone tonight, alright?”

Al grinned and said, “I think I can handle that but can you handle the no sex on the floor rule?”

“Ouch.” Replied James holding his hand over his heart mockingly.

“Alright, boys, enough.  Does everyone understand the rules? They may sound crazy but trust me they’re important,” said Harry.  When everyone nodded he turned to Nicholas and said, “I’d like to have one person assigned to get the drinks, in addition to the guard for Bridget.”

“Absolutely.”

“Now, please do not accept drinks from anyone other than the attendant or each other.  Understand?”

“Why Daddy?” asked Lily.

“I’m just being safe sweetheart.  There are some drugs that muggles put into drinks that I don’t want any of you to experience.”

“You should add no drugging to the rules, Nicholas,” joked James.

“Were working on it, but there has been some resistance,” replied Nicholas cryptically.

“Right. So, when we go inside there will be tons of people and it will be dark and smoky, so if you need a break, you can just come back to this room.  The password is ‘Mon Cheri,’” said Harry blushing.

Bridget giggled and Al asked, “What does that mean?”

Bridget smiled and said, “It means my love or my darling.”

“Interesting password, Harry,” said Hermione smiling.

Harry nodded, thoroughly embarrassed and said, “Well, I didn’t pick it and it’s the first time I’ve given it out to anyone.”

“Who picked it?” asked Al curiously.

Harry blushed and said, “Valentina.”

“Who’s Valentina?” asked James enjoying his father’s discomfort.

Rose squeezed his hand in support and he smiled at her before replying, “My former mistress.”

“Is she French?” asked Lily.

“Yes.”

Thankfully there was a knock at the door and Harry turned to get it, finding Draco and Scorpius on the other side.  Harry moved aside to let them in and Scorpius said, “This looks completely different than our room.”

“Yes, that’s because I decorated our room and Potter…didn’t,” replied Draco teasingly.

“What does your room look like,” asked Lily?

“Its cool.  It’s all black leather with silver accents and mirrors everywhere,” replied Scorpius grinning.

Lily nodded and took in their room, which was all cream with soft floral accents everywhere.  She smiled and said, “I take it Valentina decorated this room, Dad?”

Harry nodded and Draco chuckled and said, “I’ll never understand her obsession with flowers.”

“Well, I like it.  I think it looks beautiful,” said Rose reassuringly.

“I do too, especially all the Lilies,” added Lily.

“Yeah, those are my favorite,” replied Harry then he added, “We’ll have to add some Rose’s, love.”

Rose smiled and said, “Sure and maybe some Ivy vines too.”

Harry looked at her questioningly so she added, “I’ve been thinking about that name if we’re having a girl.”

Harry grinned and pulled her in for a kiss then said, “Ivy… I like it.”

“That’s a beautiful name sweetheart,” said Hermione pulling Rose in for a hug.

James rolled his eyes at the sentimental scene and whined, “Can we go in now?”

Everyone chuckled and Harry said, “Sure. I have a private seating area, and its right next to Draco’s, so follow me until we get to it, then you can all go off and do your own thing.”

Everyone nodded and Harry grabbed Rose’s hand and moved to the door on the other side of the room from where they entered and Nicholas opened it for him and they entered the club.  It was dark and smoky and loud and there were people everywhere dancing, drinking, and laughing.  As they moved through the crowd many people greeted Harry as he passed.  There were a few women that came up to him and kissed his cheek, and a few men that came up and shook his hand but most people just nodded at him and he was able to get through relatively unscathed.  Lily was in the middle of the group and she noticed that Scorpius’ father was receiving the same treatment in the back of the group.  After walking what seemed like forever and climbing several sets of stairs, they reached the private seating area.  Rose thought it was a lot like the balcony seats at the opera.  It was open and overlooked the dance floor and the many different stages that ladies were dancing on. There was nice plush seating and a table in the center.  She smiled at Harry and he kissed her softly.  Draco moved to the balcony next to them and said, “This one’s mine, so we can spread out and use both tonight.”

The attendant then went about getting their drink orders and Lily asked sweetly, “Daddy, is it alright if I have a drink tonight?”

He frowned for a moment before he nodded and said, “Alright, but just a couple.  I don’t want you getting drunk.”

She beamed at him and ordered her drink while Draco whispered, “Sucker.”

Harry rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch, pulling a giggling Rose onto his lap. He started to kiss her and she moved so that she was straddling him and he wrapped his arms around her deepening the kiss.

“Oi! That’s enough!” snapped Ron.

Harry stopped and pulled back just enough to say, “I love you.”

Rose smiled and said, “I love you too, Harry.” She then leaned into him and brought her mouth to his ear and whispered, “I’m looking forward to meeting Valentina, Mon Cheri.  Perhaps she can give me some pointers.”

Harry bucked his hips and growled sexily, “You’re killing me Rose.”

She pulled on his earlobe with her teeth and said, “Do you like that love?  The idea of me and Valentina pleasuring you… together?”

Harry groaned and pulled Rose tighter to him, making her giggle.

“Hey, lovebirds, can you quit with the PDA’s, you’re making the rest of us nauseous,” said James teasingly.

Harry moved Rose to the side so that he could look at his son and smirked, “You’re just jealous, James.”

“Damn straight I am.  But not for long, because I’m going to go sample the beautiful ladies here tonight...  Anyone coming?”

There were several chuckles and nods from the guys.

“I want to go dance, what do you say ladies, care to join me,” countered Rose?

Bridget and Lily quickly agreed and went off with Rose to go dance, leaving James, Al, and Scorpius to go off on their own.  This left Harry sitting on one couch, Ron and Hermione on the couch to his left and Draco sitting in the chair to his right.  Smiling, he looked at Ron and Hermione and asked, “Aren’t you two going to dance?”

Ron scoffed making Harry chuckle and Hermione said, “No, I’d rather stay here with you.  Besides, I feel a little old, I’m not sure I’d fit in on the dance floor.”

Harry raised his eyebrows and said, “Hermione, you are not old.  You look absolutely stunning.  Trust me, you’ll fit in just fine.”

Hermione blushed and said, “Thank you, Harry. Perhaps I’ll dance later.”

Suddenly they heard a squeal followed by “Harry!” and they watched as Harry smiled and stood up turning to face three beautiful women who all looked to be in their late twenties.  He grinned and opened his arms and they practically toppled him over, all hugging him at the same time. 

“What am I, chopped liver?” asked Draco playfully and the ladies all moved to hug him as well. 

When they were done hugging Draco, they each placed a chaste kiss on his lips then moved to do the same to Harry, making Hermione raise her eyebrows.

Harry chuckled and said, “Wow, what a greeting. I should stay away more often.”

One of the ladies, a petite brunette with long hair and beautiful violet eyes affectionately slapped Harry’s chest and said, “Harry, that is not funny!  We’ve missed you!  Where have you been? We haven’t seen you in months! Poor Draco has been forced to entertain us on numerous occasions.”

Draco laughed heartily and said dramatically, “Yes, it was simply horrible Harry, you owe me.” 

Harry laughed and sat down.  The three girls immediately followed suit and sat on the couch with him, one on either side of him and one on his lap. “I’m sorry ladies, I’ve missed you too.”

Hermione cleared her throat catching Harry’s attention and he said, “Ladies, this is my best friend Hermione and her husband Ron.”

They all turned to look at Hermione and Ron.

The brunette with the violet eyes got off of Harry’s lap and moved to hug Hermione, surprising her.  “Oh, it’s so great to finally meet you.  Harry’s told us so much about you!  I’m Sophia.”

Hermione threw Harry a confused glance but was quickly hugged by another brunette, this one taller with brown eyes. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Renee.” She then turned back to Harry and chastised, “Harry, you never mentioned she was so beautiful.”

Hermione blushed and said, “Why, thank you.”

Finally, the last of the three beautiful ladies hugged Hermione.  This one was another tall brunette but with hazel eyes.  “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Hermione.  My name is Christelle but everyone calls me Christy.”

All three ladies then moved to Ron and kissed him on his cheek after shaking his hand before they sat back down on the couch with Harry.  This time Christy sat in his lap.

“So, tell us Harry, where have you been? Valentina simply wouldn’t tell us!” whined Sophia.

Harry laughed and said, “I’ve been busy with life.”

“Harry!” whined Renee slapping his thigh teasingly.

He laughed some more and finally said, “Well, I’ve gotten engaged.”

Several squeals of delight followed by several kisses to his cheeks followed that statement. 

“Congratulations!  Is she here with you tonight?  We must meet her!” exclaimed Sophia.

Harry laughed and said, “Yes and I will certainly introduce you when she comes back.  She went to go dance with my daughter and my son’s girlfriend.”

More squeals followed by Renee asking, “You’ve brought sweet Lily with you?”

Harry nodded and Christy said, “I can’t wait to meet her Harry!  Are your sons here too?”

“Yeah.”

“I bet they are just as handsome as you,” said Sophia running her hand through Harry’s hair.

“Draco’s son is here tonight as well,” added Harry trying to take the attention off of him.

The girls all turned to Draco and he nodded making Christy coo, “Oh, this is fabulous!  We get to meet them all at once.”

“I’ve met Scorpius before, what was it ten years ago?” asked Renee.

Draco scrunched up his face in thought and said, “Yes, I think so.  It was just a few years before he went to Hogwarts.”

Hermione was dying of curiosity and asked, “So tell me, how did you all meet Harry?”

“Oh, it seems like we’ve always known him,” started Sophia, “But we met here probably ten years ago.  Is that right?”

The other ladies nodded and Renee added, “Yes, I think so. It was a few years after we met Draco.”

“And you’ve been friends ever since?” asked Ron.

The ladies giggled and Christy answered, “Friends, lovers, a little of both.  We enjoy Harry’s company, he’s a refreshing change to what we are used to.”

Hermione raised her eyebrow, as Harry blushed, “How do you mean?”

The girls all looked to Harry and he said, “It’s alright, you can trust them.”

“We spend far too much time with aristocrats. They are very stiff and boring, if I may be so blunt,” replied Sophia rolling her eyes.

Hermione still looked confused so Harry clarified, “They are royalty, Hermione.”

Surprised she asked, “Oh my, from what country, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Monaco, but we try to spend as little time home as possible,” replied Renee before continuing, “We’ve adopted France as our surrogate home.”

“So you’re all princesses,” asked Ron stupefied?

They all shrugged and Ron laughed before saying, “Only you, Harry.”

There was a commotion behind them and Sophia said, “That would be Valentina.  We’ll give you two some time to catch up but we’ll be back because I can’t wait to meet your children.”  She then got up off his lap and motioned for Christy and Renee to get up as well. Hermione watched fascinated as there seemed to be frenzy around someone and they were moving towards them. Suddenly, the most beautiful woman Hermione had ever seen was standing before them.  She had to be a veela, she was that stunning, with long blonde wavy hair, bright blue eyes and a body to die for.

Harry stood and she seemed to give him a once over before she was in his arms kissing him passionately.  He pulled away after a minute and she rested her forehead on his and said softly, “Mon Cheri, je vous ai manqué.”  She ran her hands through his hair, and kissed him one more time before pulling away reluctantly and turning to Draco.  He welcomed her into his arms and kissed the side of her face sweetly before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into the chair with him. (My darling, I have missed you.)

 

Hermione couldn’t help but notice the longing in Harry’s eyes as he said tenderly, “I’ve missed you too.”

 

She smiled lovingly at him and said, “Mon Cheri, where is your fiancé?  I must meet her.”

 

Harry beamed and replied, “She’s dancing right now, but she should be back soon. She’s looking forward to meeting you as well.”

 

Hermione cleared her throat again and Harry thought he must have the worst manners ever. He blushed and gestured towards her then said, “Valentina, this is my best friend Hermione and her husband Ron.”

 

Valentina smiled genuinely and got up off of Draco’s lap and moved quickly to Hermione, pulling her into a warm embrace.  Surprised, Hermione hugged her back and Valentina whispered in her ear, “You have no idea how important you are to Mon Cheri.  It is a great pleasure to finally meet you.”

 

Hermione pulled back and Valentina kissed first her left cheek then her right before letting Hermione go and moving over to Ron.  She kissed him like she did Hermione and gave him a brief hug before moving back to Draco and resuming her place on his lap.

 

“So tell me, Mon Cheri, have you finished working yet?” asked Valentina.

 

Harry shook his head no and Draco said, “What is she talking about?”

 

Valentina looked at Harry questioningly and asked, “You haven’t retired yet?”

 

“No, I haven’t announced it yet.  I’m going to announce it this weekend,”

 

“At the Ministry ball,” finished Valentina smiling.

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s perfect. Then you will have more time to plan your wedding, Mon Cheri,” teased Valentina.

 

Harry smiled mischievously at her and replied, “Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him and said, “Taquin.” (Tease)

 

He laughed, as did Draco and she rolled her eyes at them and said, “Je vous ai manqué.” (Boys will be boys)

 

“Harry, when did you learn French?” asked Hermione curiously.

 

Harry looked at her and said, “I didn’t.  Not really. I’ve just picked up a few phrases here and there listening to Valentina talk to me in French.”

 

Valentina laughed and said, “He’s being too kind.  I would mostly switch to French when I was angry with him.”

 

Draco cut in, “You switch to French in bed too, love.”

 

She blushed lightly and Harry smirked and added, “Yes, you definitely do.”

 

Draco chuckled at her deepening blush and said, “Alright, enough teasing for one night.”

 

Harry smiled broadly and reached forward to hold her hand.  She moved forward on Draco’s lap to be closer to him. He played with Valentina’s fingers while she said softly, “Mon Cheri, you look so happy.  I can’t believe it’s you.  Your eyes are sparkling with love.  I’m so thrilled for you.  You deserve it, never doubt that.”

 

Harry nodded, looking down at her fingers and she took her free hand and ran it through his hair, causing him to close his eyes from the gentle touch.

 

The whole interaction was such a tender moment that Hermione was left speechless.  Unfortunately, the moment was broken when the boys loudly returned to their private balcony.  The three of them took in the scene in front of them. A beautiful woman was sitting in Scorpius’ father’s lap, caressing Al and James’ father. Harry moved back and stood up, as did Draco and Valentina.  Harry cleared his throat then said, “Valentina, I’d like you to meet my sons,” he gestured first to “Al,” and then to “James.”

 

Then Draco added, “And my son, Scorpius.”

 

She smiled broadly at the three of them and said, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

 

The three boys seemed to be in shock, as they just stared at her open mouthed causing Ron to chuckle in the background before saying, “Snap out of it boys!”

 

James was the first one to pull himself together and held out his hand as he said, “I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect you to be so beautiful.”

 

She laughed lightly and said, “Thank you.”

 

Al stuck out his hand next and said, “Yes, Dad did seem to forget to mention you were breathtaking.”

 

She blushed and glanced at Harry to see him shrug.

 

Scorpius moved forward and shook her hand but then pulled her forward a little to kiss both of her cheeks before he said, “It’s nice to meet you as well, Valentina.”

 

They all took a seat and Valentina wasn’t sure if she should sit in Draco’s lap again but her decision was made quickly when he pulled her back onto his lap. She giggled before turning to the boys and asked, “So, are you having a good time tonight?”

 

They all nodded yes and before any of them could elaborate they were interrupted by squeals. Harry rolled his eyes and stood up to introduce them, “Boys, this is Sophia, Christy and Renee.”

 

The three boys stood up quickly and introduced themselves. 

 

“Hi, I’m Al, Harry’s son,” said Al holding out his hand which was completely ignored as he was wrapped in a tight hug first by Sophia, then by Christy and finally by Renee. Blushing profusely, he moved aside to make room for James and Scorpius.

 

“I’m James, Harry’s good looking son,” smirked James as he was overwhelmed by hugs.

 

Scorpius just grinned and said, “Scorpius, Draco’s son.”  He was prepared for the crushing hugs but was surprised when Renee pinched his cheeks and said, “Oh my, you’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you. You look just like Draco, but I can see your mother’s feature’s as well.”   She turned to Draco and he nodded in agreement, causing Scorpius to raise his eyebrow questioningly.

 

“You’ve met Renee before, Scorpius, about ten years ago,” clarified Draco.

 

“Oh.  I’m sorry, I don’t remember,” replied Scorpius.

 

She kissed him on the cheek and waved off his apology.  They all sat down again and were surprised to see the three ladies all sit with Harry... one on either side of him and the third on his lap.

 

“Honestly, love, I leave you for an hour and I come back to find you surrounded by beautiful ladies,” said Rose teasingly, surprising everyone.  She moved forward and bent down to kiss Harry chastely in between the three ladies that were surrounding him.  Harry grinned at her in response and she smiled at everyone and said, “Hi, I’m Rose.”

 

Harry tapped Sophia’s leg so that he could get up and said, “Sorry, love.  Ladies, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Rose.”

 

All the ladies stood and pulled Rose into a hug.  First was, “Sophia,” then “Renee,” and then “Christy.”  Rose giggled and said, “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

 

Harry then turned as he felt Valentina stand behind him and said, “Rose, I’d like you to meet Valentina.”

 

Rose surprised everyone by smiling broadly and hugging Valentina tightly.  She pulled back but kept her hands on Valentina’s arms and said, “Thank you.  I don’t know much, but I know that you helped Harry and that’s enough for me.”

 

Valentina teared up and pulled Rose into another hug as she whispered, “You take good care of him for me.”

 

Rose nodded and said quietly, “I will, I promise.”

 

“What did I miss?” asked Lily curiously standing on the entrance to the balcony with Bridget behind her. There were several men following them and they all seemed to stop and hang around behind the two. Harry narrowed his eyes and walked forward to pull the two of them onto the balcony before turning to glare at the men.  The attendants seemed to get the hint and moved everyone along pretty quickly.  Harry, still annoyed, stood in the entranceway with his arms crossed blocking the way to his daughter.

 

Lily rolled her eyes at her Dad and moved over to Scorpius to sit in his lap and kissed him passionately. 

 

Bridget did the same, sitting in Al’s lap.  

 

“Jesus, Lily!” exclaimed James.

 

She pulled away and glared at James and yelled, motioning to the three witches sitting on the couch across from her, “What?  You seem to have found yourself not one but three witches and you’re giving me a hard time!”

 

James just gaped at her but Rose said, “I don’t think they’re with James, Lily.  I’m pretty sure they’re friends of Harry.”

 

Lily looked surprised and said, “Oh.” Then she turned to the women and said, “Sorry.”

 

They all smiled and Sophia leaned forward to hold out her hand and said, “Hi Lily, I’m Sophia. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

 

Lily smiled before shaking hands with the next brunette, “Hi Lily, I’m Christy.”

 

“And I’m Renee,” said the last brunette shaking her hand.

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” said Lily still confused, “I’m sorry, I have no idea who you are.”

 

The ladies all laughed and Harry moved forward and said, “Sorry, Lily, these are my friends.”

 

Lily raised her eyebrow at him and nodded still unsure if she liked these women or not.

 

Hermione cleared her throat again and Harry looked at her confused, what did he forget now. She glanced at Bridget and then at Valentina. 

 

“Oh. Right. Sorry, I don’t know where my manners are tonight.  Good thing Hermione’s here.  Ladies, this is Bridget, my son’s girlfriend.”  They all shook hands and then he turned to Valentina and said, “And this is Valentina.  Valentina, this is my daughter Lily.”

 

Lily smiled warily and shook hands with the beautiful veela. 

 

Harry was surprised his daughter was so cold toward everyone and he quirked an eyebrow at her. Scorpius noticed this and whispered in her ear, “Lily, she was your Dad’s mistress.  I think you’re upsetting him.”  She closed her eyes and nodded.  She took a deep breath then opened her eyes and asked teasingly, “So Dad, which one of these beautiful ladies made you happy for the last ten years?”

 

Harry beamed and put his hand on Valentina’s shoulder, who looked up at him lovingly. Lily smiled, got up and gave Valentina a hug, surprising her. When Lily returned to Scorpius’ lap, she noticed her dad looked thrilled.

 

“Harry, she’s absolutely beautiful,” said Sophia

 

“Yes, she is, but she’s not entirely her mother.  Am I right?” asked Christy.

 

“Not entirely Harry either,” said Renee puzzled.

 

“She looks just like Harry’s mother,” added Valentina softly and everyone turned to her then Harry, who nodded in agreement then added, “Except the hair.  Her hair is much darker than my mother’s was. I think my dark hair made her red hair darker than my mum’s.”

 

Lily was slightly uncomfortable being discussed as if she wasn’t there, so she stood and said, “Well, I’m off to go dancing again. Anyone care to join me?”

 

“Sure, love,” said Scorpius standing up behind her.

 

She grabbed his hand, smiled at everyone, and kissed her dad on the cheek before leaving the balcony.   Harry frowned when he saw several guys eyeing her.  He motioned Nicholas over and said, “Can you have someone keep an eye on my daughter please?  I’m likely to break all your rules soon otherwise.”

 

Nicholas smiled and nodded then moved away to carry out his task.

 

Draco chuckled causing Harry to turn and look at him, “Makes me glad I don’t have a daughter, Harry. I think I would have crucio’d all of those blokes if that was my daughter.”

 

Harry frowned and crossed his arms in anger until Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him down onto the couch next to his three friends and sat in his lap.  “She’ll be fine, Harry.  It’s not like she’s not used to blokes hitting on her.”

 

The look on Harry’s face was enough to make everyone laugh.

 

………………..

 

Harry and Hermione were alone on the balcony as everyone else had gone off to dance and Ron had gone to find the loo. Hermione was practically bursting with questions and she didn’t waste any time.

“Harry, I don’t even know where to start,” said Hermione mischievously before continuing, “I can’t believe you had a mistress and that Ginny actually agreed to it.  Then you clearly fell for her and refused to give her up when Ginny changed her mind.  Plus she’s a veela, she obviously cares a great deal for you, and you were sharing her with Draco Malfoy of all people.  And you never mentioned any of this to me!” Hermione smacked Harry on the shoulder to accentuate the last point.

Harry grinned sheepishly and said, “Sorry, Hermione, it just didn’t seem like the type of thing I could talk to you about. I mean you have to admit it’s incredibly unusual.”

Hermione laughed before she became serious again and responded, “In all seriousness Harry, what made you and Ginny think a mistress would help at all?”

Harry shrugged and looked around for a minute before replying, “It did help, for a while at least.”

Hermione sensed his hesitation and said, “Harry, you know you can trust me.  I’m not going to tell Ron or Ginny what you said about this.”

He thought about it then said, “After Lily was born, Ginny lost all interest in sex.  I tried to understand; I tried to just deal with it, but she just never wanted to. Finally when Lily was five I told her that I couldn’t take it anymore, that we had to figure something out, that it wasn’t fair to me.”  He paused then added, “We talked about getting a divorce but we still loved each other. It was Ginny’s idea actually. We both laughed when she thought of it but the more we talked the more we realized it might work. I mean our main issue was that Ginny didn’t want to have sex anymore, so we thought, maybe it would help. So we agreed on some ground rules and decided to try it.”

“Harry.  I don’t mean to put you on the spot here but when you say Ginny lost interest, are we talking only having sex once a week or once a month?”

Harry chuckled and said, “Try once a year, Hermione.”

Hermione shocked said, “Oh.  Well, I guess… Yes, that **_is_** a long time.”

“Yes, it really is,” replied Harry knowingly.

“Right. So then you started seeing Valentina?”

“Well, it wasn’t quite that simple but yes, eventually I found Valentina and we started seeing each other.”

“And did you know she was also seeing Draco?”

“No.  I knew she was seeing another wizard.  She was very clear with me that she was already involved with another wizard and she saw him three times a week.  She was looking for someone that could make time for her on the other days. We started off slowly, basically dating and getting to know each other.  It wasn’t until several months in that I found out the other wizard was Draco.”

“How did you find out?”

Harry grinned and said, “I had just had a nasty row with Ginny and I needed to see her.  I didn’t even think; I just went straight to her place.  Imagine my surprise when Draco answered the door.”

Hermione giggled in response.

“Yeah, now it’s funny but at the time I was furious. I pushed Draco out of the way and stormed into her house yelling like a madman. Of course this set off Draco and we ended up rolling around on the floor trying to bludgeon each other to death.  Valentina was not pleased, that’s for sure.”

“Harry!”

“I know.”

“But you obviously figured it all out.”

“Yes.  We agreed on a set schedule and for years the three of us were never in the same place at the same time.”

“So what changed?”

“Valentina got sick… really sick.  All the healers kept saying she was going to die and Draco and I went crazy.  We never talked about it, but we suddenly had a mutual understanding that she was more important than whatever rivalry we had.  We both searched endlessly and brought countless healers to see her.  We finally found one in America that thought he could help her and he did, but it took over a year for her to recover.”

“When was this?”

“Lily’s first year of Hogwarts.”

“I remember that’s when you and Ginny really started to implode.”

“Yeah.  She was jealous of all the attention and time I was giving Valentina. She demanded I end things with her but I refused.”

“It was immediately obvious to me how much you care for Valentina when I saw you with her tonight.  I’m sure Ginny could feel that, even without seeing you two together.”

Harry nodded but the conversation stopped as Ron returned.  “It’s bloody insane out there,” huffed Ron sitting down before continuing, “I tried to check on the kids, but there were so many people I could only see them from afar. I don’t know how they haven’t been trampled yet!”

Harry and Hermione both laughed in response and he said, “I’m serious!”

“Why do you think I haven’t left the balcony all night?” asked Harry smirking.

They all chuckled as Draco and Valentina returned, followed by James, Al, Sophia and Bridget.  Everyone started chatting amongst themselves and Sophia moved to Harry’s side to talk to him in private. She leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear so that no one could hear her or read her lips.  Harry instinctively wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, splaying his hand across her lower back. It was an intimate display that didn’t go unnoticed by those around them.

“Harry,” she whispered, “I need to ask you something.”

He met her gaze and nodded for her to continue. She smiled at him and continued whispering, “I don’t know how to say this, but I like your son… James.”

Harry instinctively gripped her tighter and clenched his jaw.  He realized this after a second and loosened up.  He looked up and made eye contact with James, who seemed curious as to what was being discussed, before looking back to Sophia.

“He’s a grown wizard Sophia, you don’t need my permission,” he said a little more aggressively than he meant to as he saw her surprise.  He closed his eyes for a second to gather his thoughts before he said quietly, “Sorry, you just surprised me.”

She nodded and said, “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my friendship with you Harry, and so if you’re not comfortable with it, we can forget about ever having this conversation.”

He looked at her for several minutes, she was biting her lip nervously and while she was absolutely beautiful, he knew he would never be with her again as his heart belonged to Rose now.  Who was he to deny her?  He reached up with his free hand and moved some of her long hair off her shoulder before he said gently, “Sophia, you don’t need my permission,” he paused seeing that she wanted to interrupt him and held up his hand to stop her before he continued, “but I promise you it won’t jeopardize our friendship if you pursue James.”

She beamed at him and pulled him in for a hug making him smile as well.  He broke the hug and added, “I just ask that before anything happens with you two, that you give him full disclosure.  I don’t need to know what happens and you don’t need to give him explicit details, but he deserves to know that we’ve been together so that he can decide if he’s comfortable with that.”

She nodded seriously before kissing him on the cheek and said, “Thank you, Harry,” before getting up off the couch and moving to talk to the others. 

He noticed that Rose and Lily had returned and were laughing about something next to the couch he was sitting on.  He smiled widely and said, “Hi, love,” reaching out to touch Rose.

She smiled at him and turned to stand in front of him. He looked up at her and still couldn’t believe how lucky he was.  She took his breath away.  She reached out for his hand and pulled gently making him raise his eyebrow as he stood up.  She smiled and began un-tucking his shirt from his jeans confusing him, “Rose?”

“Shhh,” she said continuing to now unbutton his shirt.

He looked around to see the others watching curiously and he asked, “Rose, love, what are you doing?”

She finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders revealing a fitted black t-shirt underneath. She ran her hands across his shoulders and down his arms, making him shiver, before she grabbed his hand and said sexily, “You, Mr. Potter, are coming to dance with me and I want to feel your skin against me.”

He growled sexily then added, “Rose, love, I’m not a good dancer.”

She stepped back and ran her eyes up and down his body before she said a little too loudly for his liking, “Oh, Mr. Potter, trust me, you are definitely a good dancer.”

Valentina chuckled and added, “Tres magnifique!”

Rose smirked as Harry blushed profusely before she pulled on his arm making him follow her.  He sent a panicked look towards the group then said, “I guess I’m going to dance… Hermione…”

“Yes, Harry, I’ll stay and keep an eye on things for you,” she smiled cutting him off.

“Thanks!”

Harry found himself being dragged through a never-ending crowd, down several flights of stairs, through more crowds until they finally stopped on the dance floor.  Rose’s wasn’t happy with their spot so she maneuvered them across the floor until she was satisfied with where they were.  He was honestly tired just from the amount of work it took just to get here but Rose quickly distracted him by turning her back towards him and pulling him tightly against her, wrapping his arms around her body. He took advantage of the situation and began kissing her neck, making her grind back against him. He groaned in response and Rose said, “See love, I told you you were a fantastic dancer.”

He chuckled and followed her lead, moving with her. The music was loud and it was dark except for the colored lights that shot across the dance floor sporadically. Harry found himself getting lost in the feeling of Rose very quickly.  After a while Rose turned to face Harry and he couldn’t resist pulling her in for many passionate kisses as she continued to dance seductively.

“I’m so going to make you pay for torturing me when we get home,” he whispered huskily in her ear.

She raised her eyebrow at him and said innocently, “Why, Harry, I have no idea what you’re talking about; we’re just dancing,” she finished smirking.

Harry pulled her even tighter to him and growled, “You little minx.”

She giggled and whispered in his ear, “Maybe you can tie me up and punish me when we get home…how does that sound love?”

Harry gasped and pulled back to look at her in surprise. She smiled devilishly and said, “After all I have been a naughty girl. Haven’t I?”

Harry’s eyes filled with lust and desire as he looked at Rose. He was so turned on that his heart was pounding in his chest, his mouth was dry and his body was literally trembling with need. He crushed her lips in a bruising kiss and pulled her so tight against him that she had trouble breathing. She squeaked as he reached down and pulled her left leg up to rest on his hip, gripping her thigh tightly to keep it in place.  Suddenly Rose felt the crowd moving and then she heard, “Mr. Potter.”  She thought she was imagining it so she continued to kiss Harry but then she heard it again, “Mr. Potter.”  She pulled away from Harry and turned to see Nicholas and several other men in suits standing on the dance floor in front of them.  Harry apparently hadn’t noticed them until then either, as he cleared his throat and gently released Rose’s leg.

“Nicholas?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt you Mr. Potter, but a situation has arisen that requires your attention,” replied Nicholas quickly. Rose couldn’t help but notice he looked very nervous, as did the others behind him.

Harry frowned and said, “What is it?”

“Sir, I think it best if we discuss this back in your private room.”

Harry sighed, grabbed Rose’s hand and said, “Fine. Lead the way.”

Nicholas nodded and they followed him through the maze of the club to the hallway that lead to the private rooms. Rose was surprised to find many additional men in suits once they reached the hallway where Harry’s room was.  They all seemed to stiffen and look down as Harry approached and Rose thought that probably wasn’t a good sign.  She felt Harry squeeze her hand and she knew he was thinking the same thing.  They reached the door labeled “Potter” and when they opened it they were surprised by how chaotic it was inside.  Everyone seemed to be in here and there was a lot of shouting going on.

Her Dad and Mr. Malfoy were shouting at several men, while Scorpius and Al were trying to get Lily and Bridget down from dancing on a table in the center of the room.  _Wait, what?_  

She shook her head and continued to look around. James was listening to Valentina berate several men in French with Sophia, Renee and Christy all chiming in. He had a deep scowl on his face and his arms were crossed in anger. Her Mum was talking to what looked like a muggle police officer in the corner of the room.  _What the hell was going on?_

As soon as she thought it Harry yelled, “QUIET!” Everyone stopped and turned to stare at him.  He clenched his jaw and demanded, “Now, would someone like to explain to me what’s going on?”

The room exploded in noise again as they started to tell him what was going on at the same time.  She could feel him getting angry and wasn’t surprised when he yelled, “ENOUGH!” silencing them all again.  He took a deep breath and said, “Hermione, just Hermione, could you please tell me what’s going on?”

She nodded and walked over to him.  She hesitated for a minute, and Rose realized that her Mum was obviously nervous, which almost never happened.

“Harry…I just want you to keep in mind that everyone is safe now.  Can you do that for me?”

“Hermione…” he said warily.

“We’re not sure how it happened, but somehow, Lily and Bridget managed to end up with a drink that…that…”

“Hermione,” growled Harry losing his patience.

“That was drugged,” Finished Hermione nervously.

Harry looked at her in shock before he started to clench his fists in anger, making Rose yelp as she was still holding his right hand. The noise startled him and he looked at Rose surprised then quickly realized what he did and said, “Shit, Rose, I’m sorry.”  He pulled her hand up to his lips and scattered several kisses over her fingers and palm before she smiled at him in forgiveness.  He turned back and noticed the chaos had resumed in the room and he now noticed both his daughter and Bridget were dancing on a table. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose he barked, “Nicholas!”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Explain,” Barked Harry angrily.

“Well sir, it seems that your daughter and her friend left your son and Mr. Malfoy on the dance floor to go to the bathroom. On their return from the bathroom, they decided to stop and get a drink at the bar since they were right there, instead of walking back and asking the attendant to get it for them. They had both already started drinking it when they returned to the dance floor.  The attendant immediately took the drinks and notified us. We then tested the drinks and found that they were drugged but as I said the girls had already started drinking them. We brought them back here so that they would be safe until we found you.”

Harry closed his eyes trying to reign in his anger. Finally, he felt calm enough to talk and he said, “Nicholas, I want to know what’s going to happen to them. How much of this drug did they drink and what exactly is in it?  Can we flush it out of their system?  If not, how long will they be affected by it? And what’s going to happen to them?  Are they going to be sick?  Should we bring them to the hospital?

Before Nicholas could respond Harry noticed he could hear Valentina yelling furiously in French above everything else. He turned in her direction and asked loudly, “Valentina, What’s wrong?”

She stopped yelling at the attendants and turned to Harry before moving towards him.  When she was in front of him she said quietly, “Bridget is Veela, Mon Cheri.”

Confused he said, “Yes?”

“Mon Cheri, Veela react differently to this drug! It’s very dangerous for us and for those in our presence as well,” Valentina replied genuinely concerned.

“How exactly?” asked Harry dreading the answer?

“Mon Cheri, Veela are very sexual beings and our inhibitions keep us from taking what we want from whomever we want. This drug will incapacitate those inhibitions.”

Hermione gasped from beside him and he looked at her before following her gaze.

“Separate them for Fucks sake!” roared Harry as he saw his daughter and Bridget passionately kissing on the middle of the table. Both Al and Scorpius seemed incapable of moving so James and Rose moved in to try and break them apart.

Harry quickly realized how dangerous this could be and he didn’t want Rose anywhere near it.  He moved swiftly to Rose side and picked her up making her squeak in surprise.  He stood in front of her and said, “You need to get out of here Rose.”  He ran his hands through his hair and took in the chaotic scene around him. 

“Hermione!”

“Yes?”

“Can you take everyone back to the house? This is very dangerous right now. I’ll stay here with the girls and try and figure out what to do.”

“Harry, why don’t we wait until we figure out what to do before we go home?  I mean do we need to take the girls to the hospital?”

“Please, Hermione.  I just… Please, just take Rose home.  I don’t want anything to happen to her...or the baby. I’m going to stay and figure everything out with Lily and Bridget, but I don’t need everyone here for that. Please.”

Hermione smiled at Harry gently before nodding and Harry sighed in relief.  He cleared his throat then said very loudly, “Alright, I need everyone to go back to my house right now.  I’m going to stay with the girls and figure this out but for now I just need everyone to go.”

Everyone seemed surprised but started to gather their things.  Harry turned to Nicholas and said, “Tell all of your attendants to go too.  I want to have as few people as possible in here. The sooner the better.”

Nicholas nodded and began ushering people out of the room.  Harry noticed that Rose was glaring angrily at him as Hermione practically dragged her out of the room, but he did what he needed to do.  A few minutes later, only Al, Scorpius, Draco, Valentina, himself and Nicholas remained in the room.

“Nicholas, should we be taking them to the hospital? Is there a way to flush this out of their system?”

“Sir, I don’t know how much they drank. It is likely that whatever they do to them to flush it out of their system will be far worse than letting it run its course, but it’s up to you.”

“Mon Cheri, it’s too dangerous to take Bridget to a muggle hospital.  And a wizarding hospital won’t know what to do for this.  I think her only option is letting it run its course.  It’s best if she could just spend the night with her boyfriend.  If we’re lucky that will be enough for her.”

Harry and Al both looked extremely uncomfortable with the conversation so they both just nodded.  He cleared his throat and said, “But this still leaves Lily…she’s drugged and she won’t remember anything in the morning, and I’m definitely not comfortable locking her in a room with Scorpius.”

Draco snorted but tried to cover it up as Harry glared at him.

“Well, I’m not leaving her alone!” snapped Scorpius.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Scorpius making him add, “I meant that I don’t want her to be scared and all alone.  I won’t do anything with her.  I’m not a deviant; I just don’t want her to be alone. I can sleep on the floor in her room, or in the hallway, whatever, I just want to make sure she’s OK.”

Before Harry could reply Valentina said softly, “It’s probably best that he stay with her Harry just in case she has similar side effects.”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and swore under his breath before he said, “Fine.  Stay with them.  But I want both of you to promise me that you won’t do anything with them that you haven’t done when they were sober!”

“I promise,” replied Scorpius quickly.

“Me too,” replied Al.

“Let’s go then,” he motioned for everyone to leave before turning to Nicholas and adding, “Nicholas, I expect to be hearing from you tomorrow with the names of those here tonight that had this drug on them. I also expect a formal apology to be given to both the girls.”

Nicholas nodded and said, “Of course, sir.”

They all left the room and headed back to Harry’s for what was sure to be a very long night.


	11. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Rose and Lily have secrets and they are about to be revealed…

I do not own Harry Potter.

Harry arrived home to a full house. It seemed everyone had taken him literally and waited for him at his house.  He scanned the room but didn’t see Hermione or Rose so he asked loudly, “Where’s Hermione?”

“She went to go change out of her dress. Rosie too,” replied Ron walking over to him.

Harry nodded and there was a moment of awkward silence before Valentina said, “Mon Cheri, there are too many people here. It is too dangerous with Bridget.”

Before Harry could figure out what to do Draco took control and said, “Everyone, as much fun as this is, it’s time to go home now. Potter needs to take care of his daughter and we are keeping him from doing that.”

Harry smiled gratefully at him as he began showing the others out.  He turned and saw Al blushing profusely from whatever Valentina was saying to him, while Lily and Bridget were giggling and whispering in each other’s ears. Scorpius was trying to pull Lily away but neither girl seemed willing to let go of the other. Harry turned away uncomfortable with what he was seeing and spotted James and Sophia saying goodnight at the door. 

Suddenly he heard a shriek and turned in a panic, thinking something was wrong, only to see Al walking up the stairs with Bridget over his shoulder. She was giggling and cursing in French while slapping his ass. He laughed good naturedly and said, “Come now love, it’s time for you to have your wicked way with me.”

Everyone laughed at Bridget’s response, “Oooh, are you going to let me tie you up again?”

James added, “I guess now we know who wears the pants in that relationship,” causing even more laughter.

Harry was so busy laughing he almost didn’t notice Valentina head up the stairs after them.  Almost. 

As he walked towards the stairs he noticed Rose come out of the kitchen with a ginger ale in one hand with the other resting on her belly.  She had already changed and was now wearing a t-shirt and stretch shorts with her hair pulled up in disarray.  He stopped concerned and reached out to touch her arm but she moved away from him quickly, scowling.  Surprised, he left his arm outstretched and said, “Rose? Are you alright?”

She rolled her eyes at him and snapped, “I’m fine!” as she stormed past him.

Confused, Harry grabbed her arm as she passed by him and she turned around and shouted at him, “Don’t touch me!”

Completely shocked Harry let go and just stared at her, utterly speechless.  She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths and when she opened her eyes again, Harry saw a few tears fall down.

“Rose, love, what’s wrong?”

“Why don’t you ask my mother?” snapped Rose angrily.

“What?” asked Harry confused?

That seemed to set Rose off even more and she stomped her foot before yelling, “I’m not a fucking child Harry!  Because if you think I’m still a child then there’s something seriously fucked up with what we’re doing!”

Harry had no idea what was going on. He clearly had done something to anger Rose and now he was faced with a full-blown Weasley meltdown never mind the added bonus of pregnancy hormones.  Unsure what to do Harry tried the one thing he thought would help, “I’m sorry, Rose,” he said sincerely.  He held his breath waiting to see if it helped calm her down. To his immense relief, it did help.

She was wiping the tears off her face as she calmed down before she finally said, “I’m not a child, Harry.”

“I know you’re not.” Replied Harry gently.

“You’re not my father.”

“I know I’m not.” Scoffed Harry.

“Why did you do it then?” asked Rose.

_Shit. He still had no idea what he had done…_ “I don’t know, Rose.”

“You don’t get to control me!” yelled Rose, crying in earnest now.

Harry said, “I know, love,” as he reached out to her again but she quickly moved up the stairs away from him and left him standing there.

“Smooth Potter. What did you do?” asked Draco.

“I have no idea,” replied Harry still in shock.

There was an awkward silence until Lily spoke up, “Really Dad?  You asked Aunt Hermione to take her home.”

Noticing everyone’s look of confusion she huffed and continued, “Dad, you never asked her yourself to go home but rather told Aunt Hermione to just take her home. She gets kind of freaked out when guys try and tell her what to do…her ex was an abusive controlling asshole, so she thinks all guys are going to turn into lunatics. Grabbing her arm probably didn’t help either.”

Harry, Ron and James all stared at Lily in horror…

“Did you say her ex was abusive?” growled Ron.

Lily covered her mouth with her hand and said, “Shit! No, I didn’t.  I didn’t say that.  I never said that!”

“Which ex are we talking about Lily?” asked James angrily.

Lily just shook her head before burying it in Scorpius’ chest.  She seemed to be horrified about the slip and tried to get up out of Scorpius’ lap. As she stood, she became very dizzy, then lost feeling in her legs, and fell to the floor, causing them all to panic.

Harry and Scorpius were kneeling on either side of her as she groaned and held her head.

“Lily, what’s wrong?” asked Scorpius panicked.

Lily groaned and said, “I don’t know...”

“Tell me what hurts, Lily.” Said Harry.

“My head…and everything is spinning…and my body feels heavy,” slurred Lily making everyone slightly alarmed.

Harry looked up as Hermione came down the stairs. She frowned before she said; “It’s probably the drug, Harry.  It’s meant to make her defenseless.”

Harry scowled but nodded and said, “Lily, I’m going to pick you up now and bring you to your room.  Alright?”

Lily didn’t respond other than to start whimpering in fear when her father picked her up. “NO!  Please, NO!” she cried over and over again as Harry carried her to her room.  He finally put her down on her bed and she moved clumsily away from him, settling against the headboard with her arms wrapped around her legs.

Harry couldn’t stop the tears from falling down his face as he watched his daughter suffering.  Anytime someone got close to her she would beg, “No, please!” Harry knew she was trapped in a horrible memory.

Rose heard Lily’s cries and came into the room, moving directly to bed.  She sat down in front of Lily and said softly, “It’s alright Lily.  It’s just a bad memory.  No one is going to hurt you.  You’re home and you’re safe.  I’m here and James is here and Scorpius is here.”

Hermione spoke up and said, “We’re all here Lily and we’re not going to let anyone hurt you, I promise.”

Lily whimpered and cried out, “I don’t like this! Please make it stop!”

Harry was full out crying and he was holding his hand over his mouth to keep from sobbing.  He turned to Hermione and asked desperately, “Can’t we do anything for her?”

She was holding back tears as well and said, “I don’t think we can Harry.  I don’t know if a calming draught or a dreamless sleep would work or interact with what’s in her system.”

“Can’t we bring her to St. Mungo’s?” asked James angrily.

Hermione shook her head and said, “They wouldn’t know what to do.  It’s a muggle drug.”

“Then let’s take her to a muggle hospital!” pleaded Scorpius.

They heard a large crash from down the hall and Harry moved to see what it was.  Valentina walked towards him and said, “The drug has kicked in for Bridget. I’ve sealed the room from the outside so she won’t be able to get out until we reverse the spell.”

Harry frowned and looked towards Al’s room and said, “Is my son in there with her?”

She nodded and said, “Yes, but I talked to him about what to expect and he seemed comfortable with being trapped alone with her. I told him to send a Patronus if he needed to be rescued.”

Harry shook his head and looked back into Lily’s room then towards Al’s room before he said, “Valentina, is there anyway you and Draco could stay here so that I can take Lily to the hospital?”

Valentina beamed and said, “Of course, Mon Cheri.”

“Thanks,” replied Harry before he walked into Lily’s room and said, “Alright, I’m going to bring her to the hospital. Valentina and Draco are going to stay in case Al needs help.”

As Harry walked towards Lily he said, “James, can you go pull the car up front?”

James nodded and dashed out of the room while Harry bent down to pick up Lily but she cried out, “No!” at his touch making him jump back.

“Lily, it’s Daddy, I just want to carry you to the car. I’m going to take you to the hospital so that they can help you feel better,” said Harry gently.

“No! Please.  Don’t touch me!” sobbed Lily.

“Lily,” said Rose gently before repeating, “Lily,” until she caught her attention.  “Do you want me to help you get to the car?  This way Harry doesn’t have to touch you?”

Lily nodded and Rose stood up and held out her hand for Lily to take.  As she tried to stand she lost her balance and fell back on the bed.  Scorpius went to help her but she shrieked in fear, surprising him.  Hermione moved forward and said, “Lily, why don’t Rose and I help you together. Is that alright?”

Lily nodded again and tried to stand again. She was extremely unsteady and she wrapped her arms over each of their shoulders before slowly moving towards the hallway.  She nearly collapsed a few times but Harry and Scorpius were careful not to touch her. Harry went in front of them down the stairs and Scorpius went behind them. When they got to the bottom of the stairs James, Ron and Draco were waiting.

Hermione knew they wouldn’t all fit in Harry’s car so she said, “James, why don’t you and Scorpius follow in my car.”

James nodded and Hermione said, “The keys are in my purse in the front closet.”

Hermione noticed both her and Rose were in their pajamas and said, “Rose, do you want to go change quickly?”

She shook her head and said, “No, I’m fine. Let’s just get going.”

Harry frowned just realizing that Rose was coming with him instead of staying home and getting some rest, but he knew Lily wouldn’t let him touch her, so he begrudgingly accepted her coming. “Are you sure, love? Do you want me to get you a coat or something?”

Before she could refuse him her Dad grabbed a sweater from the front closet and wrapped it around her shoulders.  He went back to the closet and did the same for Hermione and Lily, surprising all of them.

Harry smiled gratefully and opened the door so they could all head to the car.  All the movement seemed to be making Lily nauseous as she stopped a few times thinking she was going to throw up.  By the time they made it to the hospital, Lily looked horrible.  She could barely walk she was so weak and she was complaining that everything was spinning and she was going to be sick. When Harry couldn’t properly explain what happened, Hermione took over and soon they were escorting Lily to a bed in the ER.  They ran a bunch of blood tests to figure out what was in her system before coming up with a treatment plan.  They were asked to leave the area so that the doctors could examine Lily and place a catheter. Harry was wary to leave so Hermione and Rose stayed behind.  A half an hour later the Doctor came to find Harry and sat down in front of him, James, Scorpius and Ron…

“Mr. Potter, I know this is going to be hard for you to answer but please try.”

Harry nodded warily

“Is it possible that your daughter may have been raped?”

Scorpius growled but the others remained silent waiting for Harry to answer.

“Tonight?” asked Harry

The doctor looked at him curiously and said, “Well, I guess my immediate concern is if she was raped tonight.  Although it would be helpful to know if she was ever raped.”

“She was not raped tonight,” replied Harry simply.

“And previously?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, she was raped previously?”

“Yes, about four months ago.” Replied Harry uneasily, knowing Scorpius was there.

“What?” gasped Scorpius horrified?

“And has she received treatment for this?” asked the Doctor concerned.

“No, she’s refused.  She still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that she was raped.”

“So I take it she was never examined or filed a police report?”

“No.”

“Unfortunately that’s fairly common. Thank you for telling me.  She was extremely agitated before we sedated her and she seemed to be displaying signs that are indicative of rape victims.  For now, she is sedated.  We’re going to admit her for the night so we’ll be moving her to a private room in the hospital soon.  You’re welcome to come back and wait with her.”

“Thank you,” replied Harry getting up and following him.  He felt the others follow as well.  He sighed knowing that he had revealed his daughter’s secret to Scorpius and that she would eventually have to talk to him about it.

When Lily was finally moved to her private room, Hermione and Ron decided to go back to Grimmauld Place and make sure everything was all right with Al and Bridget.

“Can one of you let Ginny know what’s going on in a few hours?  I don’t want to wake her up right now but she should know,” asked Harry.

“Sure, Harry,” replied Hermione patting his shoulder.

“Rose, are you sure you don’t want to come with us? You look awfully tired,” asked Ron.

“No. I’m fine,” she snapped, causing Ron to nod before leaving the room.

“James, you don’t have to stay,” said Harry.

“I want to Dad.”

Harry nodded and then watched Rose in silence for a few minutes.  She was leaning her head back against the chair with her eyes closed and rubbing her belly with one hand while supporting it underneath with the other.  She looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“Rose?”

“Hmm?” she responded not even opening her eyes.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Harry concerned.

She sighed and opened her eyes to look at him, “Not really.  I’m fairly nauseous plus the babies seem to be moving around a lot.”

Harry got up and said, “I’ll go get you some ginger ale.”

Rose nodded and asked, “Don’t you want to feel them?”

Harry smiled and said, “I’d love to.”

Rose held out her hand for him to grab and she pulled him closer before placing his hand on the right side of her somewhat swollen belly.  After a minute Harry frowned and started to say, “I don’t…” before he stopped and beamed at Rose.

She smiled back at him and said, “Here give me your other hand.”  He did and she placed it on the top left side of her belly and he felt something almost immediately. He looked at her belly and where his hands were placed then back up at Rose and said somewhat awestruck, “There’s more than one in there!”

She nodded and said exasperated, “I’ve been telling you that all along!”

“I know, I know, but I can feel them moving and there’s no way that’s just one baby!” beamed Harry.

Rose laughed and wrapped her hand in his hair as he bent down to kiss her belly twice, once at each place his hands just were. When he got up he saw James watching them curiously, while Scorpius was curled up in a chair asleep. He left the room in search of ginger ale practically skipping.

Rose and James smiled at each other and he asked, “Have you thought of any names yet?”

“You’re not going to suggest Jaime again, are you?” she teased.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.  But no, I was just curious if you had thought of any.” Replied James.

“Well, like I said earlier, I like Ivy as a name for a girl.”

“What about for a boy?”

Rose smiled shyly and said, “I haven’t mentioned it to Harry yet.  I was sort of keeping it to myself until we found out what we were having.”

James grinned and said, “Come on Rosie, you can trust me!”

Rose laughed and said, “Yeah right! But I’ll tell you anyway because I’m curious what you think.”

James nodded and she looked around the door to make sure Harry wasn’t coming before sitting back down and whispering, “Harry. If we have a boy I want to name him Harry.”

“Harry?  You know we’re all going to end up calling him junior, right?” teased James.

“He won’t be Harry junior because I’m going to give him a different middle name,” huffed Rose.

James just waved his hand in dismissal and said, “Junior.  I like it.”

“James!”

“What?”

“His name is not Junior!”

Harry returned with the ginger ale for Rose and asked James, “What are you laughing about?”

“Nothing.  Just teasing Rose.”

“James, she doesn’t feel good.  Leave her alone for Merlin’s sake,” huffed Harry.

“It’s not my fault she doesn’t feel good. Blame it on Junior.” James replied laughing.

Rose took one of the cracker packs that Harry brought her and threw it at James’ head, “I told you I’m not naming my son Junior!”

Harry smiled at the two of them before he sat down and said, “What is it with you and J’s?  First Jaime now Junior?”

James shrugged his shoulders and looked at Harry mischievously and asked, “What about you Dad, have you thought of any names for the rugby team in Rose’s belly?”

Rose groaned but said nothing.

Harry pursed his lips for a minute before he said, “I haven’t really thought about it.  I think I was waiting to find out if it was a girl or a boy.”

“Right, but you both just said you think you’re having more than one, so you need at least two names for each just in case. I mean what if you’re having triplets?”

“Do I look like a cat to you?  Do you think I’m going to give birth to a litter?” asked Rose slightly horrified.

James just laughed in response so Rose added sarcastically, “How about James, Jaime and Junior?  There, problem solved.”

“That might get kind of confusing having so many J’s in the house,” said Harry good-naturedly.

Rose rolled her eyes and said, “That’s it! Any name beginning with J is off the list!”

Both James and Harry laughed and James said, “I’m surprised we didn’t wake Lily.”

“She’s pretty heavily sedated, the nurse said she wouldn’t wake up for a few more hours,” replied Harry softly.

“She’s going to be pissed at you for telling Scorpius about her being raped,” James said seriously.

Harry sighed and said, “I know.  I guess I should have gotten up and talked to the doctor in private but I was just so worried about her that I didn’t really think about protecting her privacy.”

Rose reached out to hold his hand then said, “She’ll understand Harry.  It wasn’t like you meant to tell Scorpius.”

Harry nodded while James said, “You know, speaking of secrets, I think Lily let something slip tonight about you. She seemed pretty upset that she said it.  Are you going to forgive her?”

Rose seemed surprised but said, “Obviously. I mean she was drugged, James.”

James nodded and replied, “Good.  Then maybe you wouldn’t mind telling me which specific ex-boyfriend was abusive to you.”

Rose stiffened and looked at him wide eyed, at the same time pulling her hand back from Harry.  After a minute she crossed her arms over her belly and looked away from them.  Finally, she said, “It doesn’t matter, James.”

James spluttered before he said, “Of course it matters Rosie!  If someone hurt you I want to make them pay for it!”

She turned when she heard the emotion in his voice and smiled at him, “Thank you James.  I appreciate that, I do.  But it’s in the past now.  I mean I’m obviously not with him anymore so…”

James huffed and crossed his arms over his chest but before he could say anything further Harry growled, “How long?”

She looked at him confused and he clarified, “How long were you with him for?”

She closed her eyes and sighed, “Why does it matter, Harry?  It’s over now.”

“Because I want to know how long you were treated badly,” replied Harry concerned.

“Fine.  Six months.  Happy now?” snapped Rose.

“No, not at all.  Why didn’t you say anything, love?” asked Harry troubled.

She shrugged and replied, “Because I didn’t want to talk about it.  It’s not exactly the easiest thing to talk about.  In fact, I still don’t want to talk about it.  So can we just drop it?”

Harry could see how uncomfortable she was with this and she was practically begging them to stop asking questions so he nodded and said, “Alright, but if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

She relaxed immediately in relief, which only fueled Harry’s desire to know more.  _Another time…_

……………..

Rose was literally exhausted. She barely remembered leaving the hospital when her Aunt Ginny arrived. She somehow managed to make it her bed and collapsed instantly falling asleep. At some point Harry tried to wake her for dinner but she shook her head and went back to sleep. Finally at 10pm Harry was so worried about her that he insisted she sit up in bed so he could talk to her. She groaned and rolled over trying to go back to sleep but be was insistent and there was something about how distressed he sounded that made her comply. Blinking her eyes open groggily she could see the concern etched on his face.

"Hi," she said groggily.

He smiled in relief and said, "Hi, I was getting worried about you."

"Sorry, I'm just so tired. How long have I been asleep?" asked Rose sleepily.

"14 hours," replied Harry concerned.

"Really?" she asked surprised?

"Yeah. I tried to wake you for lunch and then again for dinner but you wouldn't get up. You need to eat something love."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how long I was asleep. The babies must be so hungry."

Harry smiled and said, "I'm sure they are fine love, it's you that I was worried about. Do you want to go downstairs and have something to eat or would you rather me bring you something and stay in bed?"

"As tempting as that sounds, I'll probably fall back to sleep if you leave me here. I'll come down with you."

Harry nodded and stood up holding his hand out to help her up.

She groaned and said, "I feel so big already. My stomach just keeps getting in my way. I don't even want to imagine what I'm going to look like in a few months. I hope there's enough room in there."

Harry chuckled and said, "I'm sure that won't be an issue love, and I promise I'll love you no matter how big you get."

"Are you saying I'm big Harry?" Snapped Rose

Harry looked horrified at her, and wasn't sure how to respond, but Rose just laughed and said, "I'm just teasing you Harry!"

He let out a sigh of relief and said, "Witch," under his breath making her laugh harder.

They had a nice quiet dinner and Harry was happy to see Rose eat plenty.

"Harry?"

"Hmm."

"Harry, look at me," said Rose sexily.

He looked up from the article he was reading, the tone of her voice sending shivers down his spine. He knew from the way she was looking at him what she wanted. He grinned wickedly and said, "Yes, love."

"I need you."

"What do you need me to do, love?" he asked innocently.

"I need you to fuck me, Harry," replied Rose bluntly causing Harry to nearly fall out of his chair. "Do you think you can do that for me, Harry?" she asked provocatively.

He got up and moved towards her and said, "I'm sure I can manage, love."

"Good. I was hoping you would say that." Replied Rose walking past him towards the stairs.

After Harry recovered from the shock he practically ran up the stairs to their room and quickly shut the door, noticing that Rose was already peeling her clothes off.

"Harry, I want it hard tonight." Ordered Rose.

He raised his eyebrow at her, having never heard her speak like this before. "Who are you, and what have you done with my fiancé?" asked Harry teasingly.

"Oh, she's still here, but tonight she really needs a good hard fuck."

Harry groaned, unbelievably turned on. "How do you want it, love?"

She grinned seductively at him before getting on all fours facing away from him.

"Sweet Merlin, Rose, are you trying to kill me tonight?" he groaned.

"Maybe, now get your ass over here and fuck me," she ordered as she looked at him over her shoulder, her hair falling all around her sexily.

Harry quickly removed his clothes and followed Rose's command, "Merlin, you feel amazing tonight, love."

"Hmm."

Harry picked up his pace and grabbed her hips pulling her towards him firmly, "Is this what you wanted, love?"

"Harder."

"Fuck, you're going to be the death of me, love."

"Please Harry, Harder!"

"So impatient." Said Harry before he picked up the pace and moved more forcefully into her.

"Yesss."

"Is that what you wanted love?"

"Yes!"

After a few more minutes Rose screamed, "Harder, Harry!"

Harry continued, but was hesitant to hurt her and sensing this she begged, 'Please Harry! I need you in me, harder, deeper."

"Rose, love, I don't want to hurt you."

"Please Harry, I need it so bad!"

"Rose, love, the babies," said Harry softly running his hand over her belly and she practically screamed in frustration.

"What is it, love?" asked Harry concerned by her new urges.

She pulled away from him and lay down on her back and Harry joined her on the bed, pulling her in for a kiss.

She whimpered and clenched the sheets in frustration, "I just need more tonight. I don't know why but I just need it hard and rough."

"I'm sorry love, but I'm not going to be rough with you when you're pregnant with my babies," said Harry apologetically.

"Please, Harry, can you just try?" begged Rose.

Concerned he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Here, get on top of me," said Rose.

He smiled and moved on top of her, but before he could start moving again, Rose moved her legs so that they were hanging over his shoulders and virtually wrapped around his head.

"Bloody Hell, that's fucking sexy, Rose." Gasped Harry.

"All those years of dance paid off, wouldn't you say, love?" she asked.

"Fuck, yeah," replied Harry breathlessly as he started moving slowly.

Rose placed one of her hands on his ass and pushed him in deeper and held him in place, grinding against him for a minute before letting him pull back. They continued like this for a bit until Rose growled in frustration and removed her legs from his shoulders so that she could roll them over and take control. She sat up, enjoying being in control, and started rising and slamming back down again, making Harry's eyes roll in the back of his head.

Rose grabbed his hands and pulled them up her body, letting one rest on her breast but pulling the other up to her neck and holding it there. He stilled and opened his eyes unsure of how he felt about this. She was quite the sight right now…her head was thrown back in ecstasy and she was moving up and down on him hard, while holding one of his hands to her breast, squeezing and twisting her nipple over his hand. He looked at her neck and saw that she was squeezing his hand over her neck as if she wanted him to strangle her. He definitely wasn't comfortable with that and pulled his hand away, making her stop and look at him.

"Rose, I'm not going to choke you."

"You don't have to, Harry, I just like the feel of your hand on my throat… you don't have to squeeze it, just keep it there." Replied Rose trying to ease his discomfort.

He still looked at her uncomfortably and she reached for his hand again and said, "Here, let me show you," placing his hand on her throat and placing her hand over his. She held it in place but didn't squeeze and he seemed to relax so she threw her head back and started riding him again in frenzy.

He watched her, mesmerized by this other side of her that he had never seen. He still wasn't sure how comfortable he was with this, but he couldn't deny that she clearly loved it. She continued for a long time until she whimpered in frustration and buried her head in Harry's neck. "What is it, love?"

"I can't finish! I need to so bad, Harry, it's killing me!" whined Rose practically sobbing.

"You need to relax love, you're all wound up. Just try and relax," replied Harry rubbing her back.

"I can't!"

"Shh, you can, love, just close your eyes."

Rose nodded and Harry began running his hands all over her body, making her moan in pleasure. After a minute he pulled her legs with both his hands towards his head, causing her to sit up a little. She looked at him confused as he pulled on her legs more, causing her to keep moving up his body. He smiled at her and said, "Hold on to the headboard Rose."

She reached out and did so, having to move forward more so that she was comfortable. Harry smirked at her and said, "Move closer to the headboard."

Rose moved a tiny bit then said, "I can't move any further, Harry."

"Just try."

She gave him a confused expression and he said, "Sit up a little on your knees."

She did and before she could process what he was going to do, he had moved down so his face was buried underneath her. She yelped in surprise as he started furiously licking her. She was very uncomfortable since she was basically sitting on his face, but soon the pleasure overwhelmed her and she no longer cared about anything other than reaching her orgasm.

"Oh God!" squealed Rose in pleasure as she moved around above him. Within minutes she was yelling a mantra of "Yes, Harry, Yes!" over and over again. Harry belatedly realized that he had forgotten to silence the room and hoped that they weren't loud enough for the whole house to hear. A second later, Rose reached her orgasm and there was no way her screams of release wouldn't be heard by the neighbors down the street. But he couldn't help but be proud of the fact that he satisfied her. He smirked and squeezed her thighs to remind her that she was still on top of him and she collapsed on his right, breathing heavily.

"Feel better now love?"

"Fuck, yeah," replied Rose exhausted.

Harry pulled her next to him and kissed her cheek before he said, "Good."

She giggled a little and he asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking I was like a woman possessed there for a little while."

Harry smiled and said, "Yes, you definitely knew what you wanted there, love."

"I'm sorry," she replied timidly.

"What? Don't be! I'm glad you feel comfortable enough with me to tell me what you want."

"Are you sure I didn't freak you out?" she asked shyly.

Harry shook his head no and said, "You did surprise me a little but don't worry, I still love you."

She rolled over and looked into his eyes to gage his sincerity and after a minute he said, "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded and he asked, "Will you tell me why you wanted me to squeeze your throat like that?"

She sighed and rolled away from him, lying on her back next to him in bed. After a minute she said, "It's complicated."

"All right, but can you try and explain it to me?" he replied supportively.

"My last boyfriend was…well let's just say very physical. At first everything was great with us, I mean he was slightly possessive but I found it quite the turn on. When we first started having sex, he was demanding and a little rough. Turns out I really enjoyed it. It's why it took me so long to figure out how bad things had gotten. I was still having amazing orgasms in bed, but I didn't realize until it was too late that he wasn't just being rough with me, he was being abusive. Something had changed and what used to be pleasurable had become quite painful. I thought maybe he hadn't realized it like me but when I started to protest being treated that way he actually became violent. From there it went from bad to worse. It took me some time to figure out how to end it with him. I knew he would be mad…" she trailed off, obviously lost in a memory.

Harry wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest, holding her there. "And was he mad?"

She nodded against his chest and Harry felt wetness. He looked down to see tears running down her face, so he squeezed her supportively and said, "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to upset you but I promise you no one will ever hurt you again."

She sniffled and said, "I was so scared of him. I tried to end things with him so many times and each time he got more and more violent. The last time we were alone together, I…I've never been so afraid in my whole life… I honestly thought he was going to kill me."

She felt Harry tense under her and he asked, "So what happened, I mean you obviously managed to break it off with him?"

"He started talking a lot about raping me…he was making all these plans about catching me unaware and forcing himself on me. He said that of course it wouldn't be rape because we were together and he was planning everything with me, that it would be like role-play but I could tell how excited he was about the idea. It terrified me." Rose paused to take a few deep breaths before continuing, "I decided I needed to get out and I needed to get out soon before he actually did rape me. So I made a pair of bracelets that when activated would bring the other person to whoever activated the bracelet. I then gave the bracelet to one person I trusted completely and gave a vague explanation about what had been happening to me and what I was trying to do."

"You know you could have trusted me, Rose." Said Harry sincerely.

She nodded and said, "I know, but I also knew you would have had to involve the Aurors and I didn't want to deal with any of that, plus you would have told my parents."

He nodded and asked, "Will you tell me who you trusted?"

"I'm not so sure you want to know, Harry."

"Of course I do, Love."

Rose sighed and buried her head in his neck before she said quietly, "Teddy." She felt him tense under her before sighing heavily. "We don't need to talk about him Harry, but just know that he did help me get out of a horrible situation."

Harry nodded and got up out of bed, pulled his boxers on and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Rose laid back in bed, unsure what to do. She needed to let Harry work this out for himself so she decided to run a bath. She threw on her robe and left the bedroom, not wanting to disturb Harry. She'd just use Lily's bathroom. As she climbed the stairs she was nearly knocked over by James, who was hurrying down them. He grabbed her arms to keep her from falling backwards and as soon as she was steady again, he let go blushing profusely, and looked away from her.

Frowning, she looked down at herself and saw that she was covered. "What's wrong, James?"

"Nothing," he replied not meeting her gaze.

"James," she said sternly, "Why aren't you looking at me?"

He huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose before he blurted out, "You forgot to put up a silencing charm, Rose."

She looked at him confused for a minute before she realized how loud her and Harry just were. She covered her mouth with her hand embarrassed and squeaked out, "Oh my god, James, I'm so sorry!"

He started moving down the stairs away from her and just waved his hand, clearly very uncomfortable. She noticed he looked dressed for a night out and asked, "Hey, where are you going all dressed up?"

He turned and smiled at her and said, "Rose, I'm wearing jeans."

"Yeah, but you're hair is all styled and you have a nice leather jacket on and matching shoes. You're looking pretty good."

He laughed and said, "I've got a date with Sophia tonight."

"Oooh," squealed Rose excitedly, making him roll his eyes and starts heading down the stairs again.

"Hey James," she called, causing him to turn back, "Don't forget the silencing charm."

He blushed, shook his head, and walked away again.

Rose moved to Lily's room and knocked on the door, she wasn't sure if she was even staying here tonight and when she received no response, she tentatively opened the door. Seeing the room empty she turned the light on and crossed to Lily's bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Al passed James as he was leaving and said, "Thank Merlin they finally finished. I had the volume on my headphones on full blast and I could still hear them!"

James laughed and said, "Yeah, I just saw Rose and I couldn't even look at her. Of course being Rosie she noticed immediately and pestered me until I told her she forgot the silencing charm."

"No, you didn't!"

"I did! She was pretty embarrassed once she realized I heard everything."

They both laughed but stopped when they heard someone storming down the stairs. They watched as their father came down, grabbed his keys and jacket and left, slamming the door behind him. He never even acknowledged either of them.

"What was that about?" asked Al

"I have no idea, but he seemed pretty pissed off," replied James.

They both shrugged and went their separate ways wondering what on earth had their Dad so angry. Unfortunately, they were both acutely aware that he had just had great sex with his fiancé so they knew it had nothing to do with Rose.

………………………..

Now that he was standing in front of Teddy’s door, Harry wasn’t sure what he was doing here.  He hadn’t seen or spoken to him since that horrible night months ago when he used the Crucio curse on him…for good reason, but still Harry felt terrible about it.  Hearing Rose tell him how Teddy helped her confused him.  He knew Lily wasn’t happy with him that he had turned his back on Teddy but what was he supposed to do, he raped his daughter. Problem was Harry still loved him like a son and had been trying to deny this for the past few months. Sighing he decided to just go ahead and knock on his door…

He could hear music coming from inside and a girl yelled, “Teddy, someone’s knocking at your door.”  A minute later Teddy opened the door and stood in shock staring at Harry.

“Who is it?” called the girl from the doorway. Teddy opened the door further so that Harry could see Victorie standing there.  She seemed shocked but recovered quickly and walked towards Harry, giving him a kiss on the cheek and said, “Hi Uncle.”

“Hi sweetheart,” replied Harry kissing her cheek as well.

She stepped back and looked between the two of them and said, “Teddy, I’m going to go ahead and meet up with my friends. Call me in the morning, alright?”

He nodded and she kissed him chastely before grabbing her coat and stepping between them to leave.

Teddy stepped back into his apartment and motioned for Harry to come in, closing the door behind him.

Harry looked around, sighed, and then said, “I have no idea why I’m here.  It was an impulse.”

Teddy nodded but said nothing.

Harry crossed his arms and added, “That’s not true…Rose told me about how you helped her with her ex-boyfriend.  I’m sort of at a loss for what to think.”

Teddy nodded and asked, “Did she tell you everything or just that I helped her?”

Harry looked at him confused and Teddy sighed and said, “It was bad.”

“How bad?” asked Harry not sure he really wanted to know. 

Teddy looked away, thinking for a minute before he replied, “If she hadn’t have called for me, I’m pretty sure the bastard would have killed her that night.”

“Why didn’t she ever press charges against him?” asked Harry horrified.

Teddy threw his hands up in the air, then replied, “She said she didn’t want the attention, didn’t want her parents to know, didn’t want you to know.  I remember thinking it odd that she specifically mentioned you but now it makes sense. She always had a plan for you.”

Harry frowned and asked, “When did this happen?”

Teddy looked at him curiously and asked, “She didn’t tell you who it was, did she?”

Harry shook his head and said, “No, she didn’t.”

“Well, if she didn’t tell you then I can’t,” replied Teddy simply.

Harry nodded, knowing that Teddy was always very loyal.

Teddy observed Harry for a few minutes and finally asked, “Are we going to talk about what happened with Lily?”

Harry clenched his jaw and said, “What do you want me to say?  I’m still bullshit with you.  I raised you as if you were my own son, gave you everything you could have ever wanted…”

“That’s not true,” said Teddy cutting Harry off.

Harry looked at him appalled and ground out, “What didn’t you have?”

“My parents.”

Harry looked away guiltily and they were both quiet for a long time before he finally said, “For years I thought about that night over and over and what I could have done differently to try and save even one of your parents… your Mum was supposed to stay home but she was an Auror, it wasn’t in her nature to stay home.  She was in the Room of Requirement but we needed to get in there so we asked her and Ginny to wait outside but when we came back out they were gone.”

After a long pause Harry added, “I’m sorry… I’m so very sorry.  It nearly killed me when I saw them in the Great Hall.” His voice was thick with emotion and anguish, even after all this time.

Teddy looked at Harry surprised by the pain in his voice and clarified, “I’m not blaming you, I’m just saying, the only thing I wanted that I didn’t have was my parents.  You’re right, you gave me everything you could and I betrayed you by doing something absolutely horrible. I’m still not sure how everything got so out of control.” 

Harry frowned and decided he wanted to get some answers, “You raped her.”

Teddy looked out his living room window thinking for a minute before he said, “I did.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have an excuse.”

“There is no excuse, Teddy,” snapped Harry before he added, “But how did you end up in that situation?”

Teddy sighed and sat down on the couch across from Harry.  He seemed to consider his words carefully, “We were having a good time.  We always had a good time together. But we were drinking, a lot. Eventually everyone went to bed and it was just the two of us.  She was talking to me about her ex and how I reminded her of him or rather how he reminded her of me since I was in her life first.  I can’t really explain what happened but she said something about being curious and suddenly we were kissing.  From there we seemed to trade off on objecting to what was happening.  First I stopped us, and she was adamant that we continue, then she stopped us and I was adamant that we continue.  We kept swapping back and forth…each time ignoring the other’s protests.  All I can say is that it just got out of control. I had always worked so hard to keep my inner wolf locked up, but that night, just that one time I let the wolf inside me out…  I didn’t stop and think that maybe ignoring her protests to having sex was crossing the line. I didn’t stop and think that she was basically my sister for fucks sake; that I was so far beyond betraying her trust.”

They were silent for a long time before Harry asked, “When did you realize you crossed the line?”

“When we were finished.  She was shaking uncontrollably and I tried to pull her in for a hug but she pushed against me.  I looked at her confused and saw that she was crying. In that moment I realized that she had clearly been crying for some time and I hadn’t noticed. I stepped away from her, as the shock of what I had done invaded me. I was honestly paralyzed, completely horrified with myself.  She took the opportunity to leave and no matter how many times I contacted her over the next couple of months to apologize, she wouldn’t reply. I didn’t see her again until you showed up here that night.”

“Since then Lily and I have talked about it a few times, trying to figure out what happened...”

“What?” asked Harry cutting Teddy off?

Teddy looked at him and said, “She didn’t tell you?”

“No!” yelled Harry appalled.

“Oh.” replied Teddy looking away from him.

They stared at each other for several minutes, neither sure what to say.

Harry tried to reign in his anger and asked, “I’m not sure I want to know but were you alone?”

“Sort of.  It’s always just the two of us but we meet at a muggle café, so there’s other people around.”

Harry ran his hands through his hair somewhat relieved and then asked, “Why are you even meeting up?”

Teddy looked at Harry and replied simply, “She wanted to.  Said I owed her at least that.  She’s right… I’ll always owe her.”

“What do you talk about?”

Teddy shrugged and said, “At first we talked about you a lot.  She was pretty upset with what happened when you found out and came to see me.”

Harry nodded and waited for Teddy to continue.

“Then we talked about her ex-boyfriend, strangely enough.”

Harry sat down running his hands through his hair and said, “I didn’t even know she dated anyone before Scorpius.  I thought he was her first boyfriend.”

Teddy chuckled but said nothing.

“Do I even want to know?”

Teddy shrugged and said, “Their relationship was intense, honestly he was intense, but they were together for a while. I won’t reveal specifics but her ex and I both have wolf traits. She was worried that’s what she was drawn to and since Scorpius didn’t have that she was worried he would never be enough for her.”

“But she’s only 16, so it couldn’t have been serious…right? I mean how old was she when she was with him?”

“How serious were you about the first person you loved?” countered Teddy.

Harry paled, knowing that he married his first love.

“Exactly.” Smirked Teddy.

“So her ex was a werewolf?” asked Harry warily?

“Not exactly, but he has wolf in him, sort of like I do.  Just enough to make him dangerous.”

“And she thinks that she needs that?” asked Harry surprised.

“She’s young, she thinks dangerous is sexy ...”

Harry groaned and said, “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“I wish I could,” replied Teddy pensively before he added, “She’s trying to work it all out though, to get a better handle on what she needs.”

“I don’t understand, I thought she loved Scorpius, that she was happy with him.” Said Harry exasperated.

Teddy shook his head and said, “She does love him, its just more complicated than that.  Look, if you’re worried about her choices, then talk to her.”

“How am I supposed to do that?  She’s dating Scorpius and I know he’s a great guy. There’s nothing to question her about.”

Teddy looked at him critically for a few minutes, sizing him up before he finally said, “Tomorrow at the ministry ball…. watch her, he’ll be there.”

“Who will be there?” asked Harry confused?

“Lily’s ex.”

“There will be hundreds of people at the ball, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to figure out which one he is.  This would be much easier if you just told me who he was,” growled Harry.

Teddy chuckled and said, “Trust me, if your watching Lily, you’ll know when it’s him.”

Harry got up and ran his hands through his hair, completely frustrated.  He didn’t want to know any of this shit.  “Look, I just came here to thank you for helping Rose.  I’m still furious with you for what you did to Lily. And regardless of all this other shit that you’re insinuating about her, you still fucking raped her. She may be moving on but it’s always going to be at the forefront of my mind when I see you. If I could get her to press charges, I would throw your ass in Azkaban without a second thought.” Snarled Harry angrily, radiating power.

Teddy clenched his jaw and nodded in response but as Harry turned to leave he said, “Tell Rose I’ll wear my bracelet, just in case.”

Harry whipped around and snarled, “Why the fuck would she need her bracelet?  You think I’m going to hurt her?”

Teddy snorted and replied, “Not you, her ex! How the fuck are you going to protect her, you don’t even know whom you’re protecting her from?” 

Harry lost his temper and advanced on Teddy, pushing him up against the wall, before he growled out, “I can protect my own fiancé. I don’t need your fucking help.”

Teddy laughed and said, “Of course you can’t protect her, he’s one of your Aurors!  You fucking picked him out of hundreds of wizards…He fooled you and she knows it.”

Harry took several steps back in shock and Teddy took the opportunity to elaborate, “She’s fucking terrified of that bastard, more now than ever, and for good reason!  There are very few groups in the ministry that are as well protected and as well connected as the Aurors.  He’ll have access to whatever he wants and no one will think anything of him asking for things.  And then when he does cross that line he’ll have an entire department backing him up and defending him.”

Harry was horrified and moved back to the couch to sit down. “I don’t understand.  Why didn’t she say anything?”

“I told you, she didn’t want you to know. Plus, she was adamant that she wasn’t going to press charges against him.  She just wanted a clean break.  She was hoping to never see him again.”

“Just tell me who he is and I’ll kick him off the squad!” yelled Harry.

Teddy shook his head and said, “I can’t, she made me give her a wizards oath.”

At Harry’s obvious surprise, Teddy added, “I told you she was serious about nobody knowing.   You’re going to have to get her to tell you.”

“FUCK!” yelled Harry.

…………………………

The next day was a blur for Harry.  First he had to help Hermione finalize a presentation they were giving that night at the ball, which was mentally exhausting. Then he had to finalize everything with the Ministry for the new Auror recruits. He had barely had time to eat and as he found himself waiting for Rose, Hermione and Lily he realized he hadn’t spoken to his sons about what he learned from Teddy.  Knowing he had little time, he quickly motioned them both to follow him and closed the door behind them in his office.

“What’s up, Dad?” asked James, as both he and Al sat down.

“Look, last night I paid a visit to Teddy and he told me some interesting things,” said Harry running his hands through his hair before continuing, “I’m not going to go into detail, but I need one of you to keep an eye on Lily tonight, and the other to keep an eye on Rose.”

They both looked at him like he was crazy and Al asked, “Why?”

“Remember how Rose said that one of her ex’s was abusive?” asked Harry and James nodded while Al said, “What!”

Harry waved his hand and said, “Well it turns out it was much worse than Rose let on and Teddy had to step in and help her.”

“Blimey,” said James.

“It gets better.  Apparently, he’s one of my new recruits.  Problem is Rose made Teddy take a wizards’ oath so he couldn’t even tell me who this bastard is! But, if either of you think you have any idea, let me know.  I don’t want to take any chances with Rose.”

“Bloody hell, Dad.  I can’t think of anyone that Rosie dated that’s one of the new recruits,” said Al horrified.

Harry nodded and said, “Well, if you two could help me keep an eye on her, I’d really appreciate it.  I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

They both nodded and he continued, “Now, this brings me to your sister.  I’m honestly not willing to think about some of the things Teddy was saying about Lily. **_But_** he did mention that her ex-boyfriend would be there tonight and that if we watched Lily we would be able to tell who he was.  Normally, I would just give your sister her privacy except he said that Lily was into guys that were dangerous, including werewolves and vampires.”

“What!” said Al and James together?

Harry just nodded and said, “Yeah, I figured you’d agree with me.  Now, which one of wants to keep an eye on Rose?”

“I’ll keep an eye on Rosie,” replied James darkly, “I want to find out who this bastard is.”

“I’ll keep an eye on Lils.  It should be pretty easy since Scor will be with me most of the night, anyway,” replied Al.

“Thanks boys, I’ll do my best to keep my eyes open but you know how much time I have to spend schmoozing with different Ministry guests.  I know how crazy these events can get, and I just want to make sure everyone stays safe,” replied Harry concernedly.

“Harry?” called Hermione before she knocked and opened the door.  She smiled at him and raised her eyebrow at the trio…

“Auntie, you look beautiful,” said James smoothly moving to her side to give her a kiss.

She blushed and said, “Why thank you, James. You always were such a sweet talker.”

They all chuckled and Al said, “He’s right Auntie, you look great.”

“You’re definitely the most beautiful Minister of Magic yet,” said Harry smiling.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, “That’s not saying much, Harry, but it’s the thought that counts, so thank you. Now, let’s go!”

Harry laughed and followed her out of the office to the living room and found Scorpius, Draco, Ron, Ginny, Cormac, Bridget and Sophia waiting. Al and James both kissed their mother before moving to their dates’ side.  Harry greeted everyone, raising his eyebrow at James when he greeted Sophia. 

“Harry, we really need to get going… let me go see what’s keeping Rose and Lily,” said Hermione worriedly.

“It’s alright Hermione.  Why don’t the rest of you go ahead and I’ll wait for them,” replied Harry heading up the stairs.  He heard everyone start leaving through the floo on his way up.

Rose was closest so he knocked on the door to her closet before poking his head in to find her sitting down looking at something in her hands.  Obviously, not noticing him, he moved closer to her and said, “Rose?”

She jumped slightly and smiled at him in relief. As he got closer he saw that she was holding a simple black leather bracelet. He recognized it immediately, having seen Teddy wear it many times.  This must have been the bracelet that brought Teddy to her, the one that he told Harry that he would wear tonight for Rose.  Sighing internally he took the bracelet from her hands and fastened it on her wrist.

“I wasn’t sure if it matched what I was wearing,” said Rose biting her lip.

Harry looked at her and saw that she was wearing a deep blue beaded gown. The dress was long and had a deep v in the front revealing slightly more of her flesh than he was comfortable with. It also had a very high slit up her right leg but Harry couldn’t deny how beautiful she looked. The dress must have had a maternity charm on it because he couldn’t make out her swollen belly.  He tapped his wand to the bracelet and the shade changed to match the color of her dress and she smiled at him gratefully.

“Now, you look perfect, love, but there’s just one thing missing,” said Harry baiting her.

“What?” asked Rose looking at herself in the mirror?

Harry moved close behind her and whispered, “Jewelry.” He then stepped back and continued, “Now, the last time I went to Gringotts I grabbed a few things that I thought you might like.  Let me get them,” said Harry leaving the room to go across to their bedroom.  He returned a few seconds later holding a small chest.  He placed it down, opened it and said, “Pick something you like, love.  I’m going to head upstairs and find out what’s taking Lily so long.”  He kissed the side of her head, chuckled at her look of awe, and left the room to go retrieve Lily.

Harry climbed the stairs and knocked on Lily’s door before opening it.  “Hey, sweetheart, are you almost ready?”

She was standing in front of the mirror and she turned to face him, causing him to stop in his tracks.  He was literally frozen in place… She was undeniably beautiful but there was also a touch of something else, something he didn’t want to readily admit, something dark. She had a quite simple long black dress on, with only one exposed shoulder and a slit up her left leg. Regardless of the simplicity, or perhaps because of it, she was the picture of perfection in it. Her hair was down and somewhat wild and she had on very high heels that seemed to sparkle in the light. As Harry stood there he had a hard time figuring out what happened to his little girl. 

Lily seemed to realize this and smiled at him as she moved forward and kissed his cheek.  “Sorry, Dad, I didn’t mean to hold everyone up.”

Harry smiled at her and said, “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

She blushed and said, “Thanks Dad,” as she passed him to start heading down the stairs. 

“I’m coming!” said Rose hurrying to meet them in the hallway.  She stopped when she saw Lily and said, “Lily, you look amazing!”

“Thanks!  So do you!” replied Lily kissing Rose’s cheek.

“Lily, do you want to pick out some jewelry to wear,” asked Harry as she started to head down to the first floor.

“No, that’s alright.  Scorpius said he had something he wanted me to wear,” replied Lily.

Harry frowned but was quickly pulled down the stairs alongside Rose. He was surprised when he got to the bottom of the stairs that Draco and Scorpius were there.  Lily was talking with Scorpius in hushed tones before he opened a box to show her what must have been the jewelry he brought.  He heard Lily gasp as she said, “It’s beautiful, Scorpius.”

“It was my mother’s favorite set and she always wore it with black.  I knew when you said you were wearing black that it would be perfect,” replied Scorpius quietly.

“Will you put it on me?” asked Lily turning away from him and holding up her hair so that he could place the necklace on her. It was a thick silver choker in the shape of a snake with two large green emeralds for eyes.  Once that was on he placed the matching bracelet on her and then handed her the emerald earrings. When she was done she turned to him questioningly and he said, “They’re perfect on you, love. You look absolutely beautiful.”

She blushed and kissed him softly as Harry said, “Alright, I think we’re ready now.”

Everyone started leaving through the floo, but when it was just Draco and Harry left, Draco said, “She’s going to make a great Malfoy one day, Potter.”

Harry stood there in shock for several minutes after Draco left before he shook his head and flooed to the Ministry.

………………………………

Lily could hardly explain how she was feeling right now…she was anxious and excited and nervous and worried and whole bunch of other things.  She hadn’t seen Dmitri in almost a year, since he left for Hit Wizard training.  She didn’t know what he had been doing all year, only that it was required that he spend a year abroad training and doing undercover work. She had no idea if he was even going to come tonight but she remembered in past years the Hit Wizards usually came late because it always annoyed her Dad.  She chuckled knowing it would drive her Dad crazy if he knew that she had seriously dated one of them. 

As she politely said Hello to countless witches and wizards that her Dad was introducing her to she thought back to the first time she met Dmitri…

_It was at a party that Victoire asked to stop at to drop something off for Teddy. She remembered catching his eye from across the room; there was no doubt in her mind that he was the sexiest wizard she had ever seen. He was tall, extremely muscular with dark hair that reached his shoulders and dark eyes.  He was sinfully handsome and obviously of Mediterranean descent. She found herself moving towards him from across the room and was quite surprised when she was directly in front of him.  He smiled devilishly at her and as he introduced himself she noticed he had an accent that she couldn’t quite place._

_“Chow, Bellisima,” he said taking her hand and kissing it softly, never losing eye contact with her._

_Lily blushed fiercely and squeaked, “Hi.”  She was instantly mortified, could she think of nothing else to say than Hi?_

_His eyes twinkled mischievously at her as if he could read her mind._

_He probably was reading her mind._

She realized Scorpius was talking to her and shook her head of the memory.  “I’m sorry, Scor, what did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted to go grab some appetizers?” he repeated, looking at her curiously.

“Sure,” she replied smiling.  As she got up she couldn’t help but notice Al watching her more than usual.  _Weird._

She was scanning the enormous ballroom constantly looking for Dmitri when she wondered if she should tell Scorpius that he might be here tonight.  He didn’t know much besides the fact that she dated someone named Dmitri before him. Chances are he never gave it a second thought but honestly what reason is there to tell him he might be here, he’d probably think she was crazy.  Still…

“Hey Scor?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember I told you about Dmitri when we first started dating?” she tried to play it casual but she could see he tensed up.

“Your ex, the wolf?” he asked guardedly.

“He’s not a wolf!” she snapped much louder than she meant to as several people stopped to look at her curiously.

Scorpius seemed surprised by her response and waited for her to continue, “He’s a wizard just like we are, for Merlin’s sake. His mother was attacked by a werewolf when she was pregnant with him…that doesn’t make him a werewolf!”

“Alright,” said Scorpius clenching his jaw, “What about him?”

She bit her lip and looked away for a minute before she said quietly, “Well, he might be here tonight.”

“What do you mean, he might be here tonight?” he asked tersely.

“I mean, well, he sort of works for the Ministry, so he might be here.” She mumbled.

“I didn’t realize he was that much older than you,” replied Scorpius frowning.

“Not that much…just two years.” Replied Lily trying to play it down.

“Hm.  And what does he do at the Ministry?”

“Oh you know…stuff.” She replied deliberately evasive.

“No, Lily, I don’t know.  What stuff?” asked Scorpius annoyed.

She huffed and said quickly, “He’s a Hit Wizard.”

Scorpius was obviously shocked as he looked at her wide-eyed.  The Hit Wizards were very exclusive and very little was known about what they did. They were pretty much exempt from all wizarding laws and often worked undercover.

“I just figured I should tell you in case he comes to say Hello or something,” said Lily twisting her hair with her fingers nervously.

Scorpius grunted and nodded in response, but she could tell he was still thinking about it.

Sighing, she said, “I’m going to go talk with my Mum for a bit.”

“Sure,” he replied distractedly.

………………….

Rose was enjoying meeting everyone she was going to be working with as an Unspeakable.  She surely wasn’t going to remember all of their names at the end of the night.  She turned and caught Harry’s eye, smiling at him, as a few of the young Unspeakables were telling her about the training.  As she excused herself to run to the loo she couldn’t help but notice James watching her.  _Weird._

An hour later when it appeared the ballroom couldn’t possibly hold any more people, they were all ushered to their seats. Seating was difficult with her family because there were so many of them and also because the Ministry tried to seat new recruits with their department.  This was virtually impossible with Rose, as her Mum was high up in the Ministry and Harry, who would usually sit with the Aurors, most likely insisted she sit with him, so she didn’t see how she could sit with the Unspeakables. 

Her table was front and center with her Mum and Dad, Harry and herself, Scorpius and Lily, and Draco and Astoria. To one side of them were Ginny and Cormac, Al and Bridget, James and Sophia, and Hugo and his date Jennifer. Directly behind their table was the beginning of the Auror tables, and to the other side of the table was the beginning of the Unspeakable tables. In front of her Aunt Ginny’s table was the Minister of Magic and all the other higher ups.  She smiled to herself thinking how much work it must have been to figure this seating arrangement out.

She felt Harry squeeze her hand under the table and smiled at him as the Minister started speaking…

“This year, more than so many years past, will bring change.  So before we welcome all the new recruits and talk about all the change that will take place this year, I think we should take a look back.  How did we get here?  Do you really know?” He paused before he continued,  “Many of us fought hard for peace, some not just once but twice.  Families were torn apart by war but through it all we knew that peace was worth fighting for.” He stopped as everyone applauded him.

“I think as we welcome our new class of recruits, none of whom were even born during the last war, we should remind them how we got here.”

There was tremendous applause and Rose was surprised to see her Mum, Dad, Harry and Draco stand and make their way to the podium.

“Now, as much as I would like to take credit for this brilliant idea, it’s Mrs. Granger-Weasley that put it all together. Hermione wanted to do more than just tell you about the last war; she wanted to immerse you in it. To give you a real feel for what was going on at the time.  So she enlisted the help of some people you may know.”

Kingsley motioned towards Harry, Ron and Draco and everyone laughed.

“So without further ado, I’m going to hand this over to Hermione.”

There was applause as Hermione stepped to the podium.

“Thank you, Minister.  As the Minister so eloquently pointed out, I wanted to immerse you in the last war so that our new recruits would feel just as strongly that what we are doing at the Ministry is vitally important to the Wizarding World.”

She paused, as there was more applause.

“The presentation you are about to see is a combination of memories from myself, my husband Ronald Weasley, and my dearest and best friend, Harry Potter.  You may be surprised to find Draco Malfoy up here with us, but make no mistake that all wizarding families suffered during the last war, even purebloods, and Draco’s memories prove that. Our memories show that we all fought tirelessly for the peace that we have now and no matter what side you started on, we are all on the same side now.”  

There room exploded in applause and the lights were dimmed as the entire front of the ballroom was transformed into a giant projection screen.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco returned to the table and there was a loud commotion at the doorway causing everyone to look back momentarily before the presentation started…

 


End file.
